How Will I Know
by ItsWhatIWrite
Summary: A/U. Gabby Dawson and Matt Casey meet under different circumstances. With raising two boys on her own, the last thing Gabby needs is to fall into a serious relationship. Will Lieutenant Matt Casey convince her that it's ok to let your guard down for the right person?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I know, I'm crazy for starting another story. But don't worry, there will be another chapter of 'A Change in Plans' (it's about halfway done) and I'm already working on chapter eight of 'Silence in the Dark.' I just haven't been able to get this plot out of my head for a few weeks now. Why? Well, because I just absolutely love Matt's interactions with kids. So I kinda put a twist on it. The title of the story is inspired by Whitney Houston's 'How Will I Know.' Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

How Will I Know

Chapter One

Elijah Dawson waited as patiently as any fiver year old could. His low cut, red converse tapped against the cracked sidewalk in anticipation. With his arms crossed, he watched as dozens of other kids ran into the firehouse. "Gus always poops at bad times," he said to his mom's back.

Gabby glanced over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow at her son, "the picnic just started, Eli. I promise you'll have plenty of time to see the fire trucks." She put Gus' khaki shorts back on and propped the ten month old on her hip. "Can you grab his bag?" She walked a few feet to the beat up trash can that leaned against the lamp post for support and tossed the dirty diaper.

"You mean _my_ old monster truck bag?"

"Yes, your _old _bag. I need the hand sanitizer." Eli took out the travel sized bottle and handed it to his mom. "Thanks, baby."

"I'm not a baby, mom."

"But you'll always be my baby."

After disinfecting her hands, she tossed the sanitizer back into the side pocket of the bag and shouldered it. She held her hand out for Eli, "let's go."

"Finally!"

It was the fourth of July and as they did every year, Firehouse 51 was holding a picnic.

"Hey stranger!" Shay dropped the roll of raffle tickets on the table and pulled Gabby into a hug, aware of the toddler perched on her hip. "Gosh! Haven't seen you guys, in what, a little over a month? She ran her hand through Gus' hair, "he's gotten so big!"

"What about me?" Eli jumped up and down, getting Shay's attention. "Have I gotten big?"

"Yes you have!" Shay hoisted Eli up, "almost too big for me to pick up!" She kissed his cheek and placed him back on the ground. "I think the last time I saw you guys was Memorial Day." She placed her hands on her hips and looked back at Gabby, "and if I remember correctly, we talked about needing to get together more often."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. June wasn't exactly the calmest month."

"I can imagine. Everything's good though, right?"

Gabby took a breath and adjusted Gus on her hip, "for the most part."

"Any chance in me being able to convince you to come back to ambo? I'll even let you be PIC."

Gabby laughed, "I miss it, Shay. I do. But nursing is a bit more stable."

"Just say it, you mean the pay is a lot better."

It had been nearly three years since Gabby had graduated from nursing school and made the transition from Firehouse 51 to Lakeshore Hospital.

"Maybe that factors into a bit, too."

"The guys miss you.""

"More like they miss my cooking."

"Well, that too!"

"Mom! I wanna see the fire trucks!"

"Tuck, tuck!" Gus babbled, pulling his chubby finger from his mouth and waving them towards the fire truck.

"You guys should go check it out, that Lieutenant I was telling you about at the Memorial Day picnic, he's giving a tour." Shay winked and nudged Gabby. "You're available again, sister and so is he."

Gabby rolled her eyes, "yes, because a woman with as much baggage as me is every guy's dream."

"For your information, his last relationship ended because she didn't want kids."

"Well there's a difference between wanting kids of your own and raising someone else's."

Shay shrugged, "fine. Suit yourself. I've gotta get back to handing out raffle tickets. I'll come find you guys once you finish your fire truck tour."

"Come on, Mom!" Eli pulled his mother's hand.

"Ok, ok, let's go."

"Finally!"

Eli practically dragged his mom over to the small crowd in front of the fire truck, he had already missed enough.

"…and this is where I sit." Lieutenant Matt Casey explained, pointing to the front passenger seat of the fire truck. "Who wants to be the Lieutenant?"

Half a dozen little hands flew up in the air and a chorus of 'I do!' sounded through the garage. Matt laughed and caught site of the little dark haired boy in the back with both hands up in the air. He pointed to him, "how about you? With the red shirt. What's your name?"

Eli grinned and looked up at his mom. "Can I?"

She nodded, "go ahead."

The five year old ran up to the front, "My name is Elijah! But you can call me Eli."

Matt grinned, amused by the little boy's enthusiasm. "It's nice to meet you, Eli. My name is Lieutenant Matt." He pulled open the door and looked back down at Eli, "do you know what makes a Lieutenant different from the other firefighters?" Eli shook his head. "The Lieutenant is the boss."

"Cool!"

* * *

><p>"Hold the phone!" Herrmann exclaimed. "Am I really looking at the one and only Gabriela Dawson right now?"<p>

Gabby grinned. "Oh come on, I can't look that different."

"What are ya talking about? You're more gorgeous than the last time I saw you! Which…" he furrowed his brow, thinking back to the last time he saw her. "Memorial Day? Way too long, Dawson."

"That's exactly what I said," Shay chimed in, joining in on the conversation.

"Wait," Matt started, "You're the former PIC Dawson?"

Gabby couldn't help but blush, "the one and only. Although, I'm not exactly sure what you've heard about me…"

"Well for starters, apparently nobody can cook like you."

"That's true."

Eli sighed and tugged on his mom's hand, "_mom_, Lieutenant Matt was gonna show me the rest of the firehouse."

"I still can, buddy." Matt assured Eli.

Eli dropped his mother's hand and grabbed Matt's, "well let's go, then!"

Matt looked over at Gabby, "do you mind?"

"No, not at all." She leaned down to Eli's level and sat Gus down on his feet before she lost her balance. She gave her eldest a stern look. "You have to listen to what Lieutenant Matt says, ok?"

"I will! Promise!"

"Ok, go ahead."

"Yes!"

"Eh!" Gus called out.

"Oh, he'll be back." Gabby picked Gus back up, knowing if she didn't he would chase after his brother. Even though he was just crawling, Gus was constantly on his big brother's tail, following him everywhere he could.

"Come see Auntie Leslie." Shay cooed, reaching out for Gus. She grinned when the tot smiled and went to her. "That's right, you know who I am, don't you?"

Cruz draped an arm around Gabby, "wanna hangout in the kitchen, just like old times?"

"Cruz, if I recall correctly, I gave you some cooking lessons before I left."

"Yeah, that really didn't help much." Otis quipped, he scrunched his face up in horror as he remembered some of Cruz's failed attempts at cooking.

"Hey, I'm still better than you!"

"I see you two are still bickering like an old married couple."

"They even live together now."

"Oh, really?" Gabby laughed. "How's that working out?"

* * *

><p>Shay finished hugging Gabby and gave her former co-worker a serious look. "Let's actually make plans to hang out this time."<p>

Gabby nodded, "I agree. How about next Friday night? Eli is staying over at my brother's house for Diego's birthday. I'll still have Gus but he's usually out by nine thirty at the very latest. It'll just have to be a girls' night in instead of girls' night out."

"Works for me!"

"Great! I'll call you." She said good-bye to the rest of her old coworkers, being pulled into a hug by every single one of them, including Chief Boden. She took Gus from Cruz and watched across the garage as Eli continued to explore Truck 81 thanks to Lieutenant Matt. "He is not going to want to leave," she mumbled to Shay.

Shay grinned, "well look how much fun he is having with Matt."

Gabby rolled her eyes, "Shay…"

"I'm just saying, if you ever need a baby-sitter so you can go out on a date or at the very least, get laid...you know my number."

"I'll talk to you later, Shay." She took her keys from Gus' grasp and he started to fuss. "I know, mommy is just so mean. Come on, let's go pull your brother away from the fire truck."

"Tuck!"

Gabby made her way across the garage. There were still a few people hanging about, mostly family of the crew but once the fireworks show had come to an end, the place had started to empty out.

"Ok, Eli, it's time to go. Tell Lieutenant Matt thank you."

Eli crossed his arms, "I'm not ready to go."

"Doesn't matter."

"But mom…"

"No buts, tell him thank you so we can go."

"Thank-you for letting me be a Lieutenant," Eli mumbled. "I wish I could stay longer."

Matt grinned and bent down so he was level with Eli. "You're very welcome and you know what?"

"What?"

"You, your little brother and your mom are welcome to come back whenever you want, ok?"

"Really?"

"Really." Matt stood back up and turned his attention to Gabby. "He's a great kid."

Gabby smiled, "thanks."

"I don't think we've actually been formally introduced." Matt held out his hand, "Matt Casey."

"Gabby Dawson. I would shake your hand but mine are kind of full."

"Oh," Matt dropped his hand in embarrassment, "right."

"You've obviously met Eli and this one," Gabby bounced Gus a bit and kissed his head, "is Gus."

"Hey Gus."

Gus started to fuss and turned away from Matt, cuddling into the crook of his mother's neck. "He's sleepy," Gabby explained. "It's been an eventful day."

"Well it is America's birthday, only fair to have one heck of a party," he joked. "Here," he motioned to the bag in Gabby's hand, "why don't I help you guys to your car."

"Oh uh…sure." Gabby let Matt take the bags from her and used her now free hand to get a hold of Eli's hand. "Uh, yeah…let's go." Gabby could feel Shay's eyes on her, giving her a knowing look but she absolutely refused to look her way. She was sure she'd get a phone call later.

Shay wasn't the only one who saw the interaction between Gabby and Matt. Severide did too. But he was more concerned about how Shay was going to meddle than what Gabby and Matt could potentially end up doing.

"Don't even think about it, Shay" said Severide.

The blonde rolled her eyes, "don't be such a party pooper."

"Well don't be such a meddler. Casey is a big boy, if he is into Dawson, he can act on it himself." Severide chuckled, "although with Dawson's track record, Casey probably isn't her type."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Dawson likes the bad boys…the occasional criminal."

Shay narrowed her eyes at Severide. "Which is nothing you'll mention to Casey if he asks. We've all made mistakes, Kelly."

* * *

><p>Gabby pulled her hair up as she left the bathroom and headed towards her room. She stopped and glanced into the boys' bedroom one last time, the ninja turtle nightlight plugged into the outlet gave her enough light to see that both boys were indeed sound asleep.<p>

She'd just climbed into bed and pulled the covers up over her when her phone rang, she quickly answered not wanting to wake the resident light sleeper that was her youngest. "Hey, Shay."

"Gabriela Dawson, I'm a little hurt."

"What? Why?"

"I'm very upset you didn't call to give me the scoop on your little conversation with Lieutenant Casey!"

Gabby rolled her eyes and leaned against the headboard. "Well I did have to put two boys to bed. And besides, it was nothing. He just helped me out to my car."

"Oh really?"

"Really."

"Well for your information, before Kelly and I left the station, he totally asked us about you."

"Shay," Gabby whined, "don't do this." She sighed and let Shay's words sink in; her curiosity quickly got the best of her, "what did he say?"

"I'm pretty sure you just told me to stop."

"Leslie Elizabeth Shay!"

"Oh, alright, just the usual questions. Wanted to know if you were single, blah, blah, blah…"

"Severide just said I was single, right? He didn't go into detail about-"

"He said nothing else. Matt didn't even ask about any baby daddies."

Gabby rolled her eyes, "I hate that term."


	2. Chapter 2

_Hey guys, just wanted to take a moment to thank each and every single one of you for reviewing. Seriously, posting something right before I got to bed and then waking up to lots of great reviews is a pretty awesome feeling. I take my writing very seriously so if there is ever any critique you have, please don't be afraid to share. I have this story almost completely planned out, so don't worry, certain questions will be answered in time. ;) Also, anybody else enjoying a snow day? I was already supposed to be off work so I guess it doesn't really count but I'm still using it as an excuse to do absolutely nothing. -Rebecca_

How Will I Know

Chapter Two

True to her word, Gabby had stuck to her plan to spend some time with Shay while Eli spent the night at her brother's. She stood outside the apartment with Gus in her arms, waiting for Shay to get to the door.

"So there's been a little change in plans," Shay said as she opened the door and stepped out of the doorway to let Gabby in.

"Oh?" Gabby asked, adjusting Gus in her arms.

"You see Kelly here didn't listen to me when I told him that I had invited you over for girls' night and he invited Casey over to watch the baseball game."

"Oh," Gabby shrugged, briefly making eye contact with Matt who was settled on the couch, nursing a beer. "I mean, I'm ok with that. If you guys don't mind Gus?"

Severide held up his own drink, "the more the merrier! And besides, it's never too soon to start teaching little Augustus here about the wonderful sports teams of Chicago."

Gabby rolled her eyes, "Believe me, my brother has tried. This one does not like to sit still. Eli on the other hand, has learned the art of trash talking thanks to his cousin Diego."

Matt laughed, "he definitely seems like an animated kid."

"Oh he is," Gabby agreed. She met Matt's eyes and despite the flip her stomach did, she didn't look away. "He uh…he hasn't stopped talking about the tour you gave him at the picnic last week. I can't thank you enough for that. It was nice seeing him carefree and happy again."

"It was no problem." The more Matt learned about Gabby—whether from her, Shay or Severide, the more intrigued he became. There was something about her warm yet hesitant gaze that drew him in and he yearned to just talk to her and get to know her.

Gabby nodded and sat Gus down on the floor, she'd changed him into his pajamas before leaving the apartment in hopes that he would fall asleep at some point during the evening. She'd considered asking her brother to also watch Gus for the evening but that would just lead to an interrogation from him.

Antonio was and always had been there for her, there was no question about it. He always came through for her, probably more times than she actually deserved. And unfortunately, though, as of late, his help had been at the cost of their once close bond. She used to tell him everything. But for the past two years and a few too many bad choices later, he'd spent more time correcting her wrongs for the sake of her kids than for the sake of her.

To be honest, she couldn't blame him one bit. She'd ignored his many warnings about Lance and had found not only her life, but her children's lives in great danger.

A mischievous grin peaked out from behind the pacifier Gus was sucking on and he started crawling straight for the basketball that was sitting in the corner of the living room with some of Kelly's workout gear. "Ball!"

Gabby snapped out of her thoughts just in time to catch Gus and sit him back down, "Yes, but it's not yours. We brought some of your toys, remember?" She dropped the bag from her shoulder and opened it, revealing some cars and trucks along with a few baby books.

Shay plopped down next to Kelly, phone in hand. "I'm gonna order a few pizzas. Any special requests?"

Gabby shook her head, "I'm fine with whatever. And this kid will eat anything." She settled next to Gus on the floor.

Matt saw this and shook his head, "there's plenty of room on the couch." He scooted over, his back running into the arm of the couch.

"Thanks." Gabby smiled and moved to the couch.

Gus' attention flew to his mother the minute he saw her move away from him. "Ma!" He held his hands up, wanting her to pick him up.

He'd just recently hit that phase where the only person he wanted was his mother. Every time she left his eyesight, he was fussing. The days she had to leave him with her cousin to go to work were the absolute worst. But she knew the tough love would go a long way.

"It's ok, I'm not going anywhere," she reassured him.

Apparently that answer wasn't good enough. Gus pulled himself up so he was standing against the couch and smacked both hands against the cushion.

"Ok, fine." Gabby scooped him up and sat him between her and Matt. "You're spoiled, you know that, right?"

Gus grinned and clapped his hands in response. "Ma!"

"How old is he?" Matt asked, finally finding a question to ask in hopes of starting up a conversation with her.

"Almost eleven months."

Shay discarded her phone and interrupted the potential conversation. "Pizza should be here in half an hour." She pulled her legs up and slipped them beneath her, giving both Gabby and Matt a knowing look. "And what are you two birdies talking about?"

"Oh, I was just asking Gabby how old Gus is."

"Speaking of, when's the first birthday party? What's the theme? And what kind of gifts should I be looking at?"

"I haven't really had time to think about it," she leaned down and grabbed one of the books off the floor and opened it halfway before sitting it in Gus' lap. "Nothing too big."

"We went all out for Eli, so it's only fair we do the same for Gus," Shay reasoned.

Kelly nodded, holding his drink up, "for once, I think Leslie has a plan that isn't going to blow up in our faces."

"Oh shut your mouth! My plans usually work out!"

"Yeah, whatever you say." Kelly turned his attention back to the game, trying to hide his smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, more often than not, your plans end in disaster," Gabby said.

"Not true!"

"Yes it is," Matt agreed. "Like that time you…." He paused, trying to settle on one specific instance. "Well, there are just too many examples, I just don't know where to start."

Shay's jaw dropped in offense, "ok, let's gang up on Leslie Shay today, shall we?"

Gabby laughed, "gotta taste your own medicine every once in a while."

"Gabriela Dawson! My friend, my former partner in crime, you're taking Kelly's side?"

"Hey," Gabby threw her hands up, still laughing. "I'm not taking anybody's side, just stating the facts." At the sound of his mom's laugher, Gus' head popped up. He looked up at his mom in confusion before grinning and letting out a little giggle.

"Even Gus thinks it's funny," Matt joked. Gus turned his head at the mention of his name and looked over at Matt in curiosity. "Hey, buddy," Matt said once he noticed the boy's attention on him, he motioned to the book in Gus' grasp. "What ya go there?"

Gus smacked the book in enthusiasm, "ba ba ba!"

Matt glanced at the book, taking in the pictures, "cars and trucks? Just like your brother, huh?" Matt turned his attention to Gabby. "Where is Eli, anyways?"

"At my brother's. My nephew is having a sleepover for his birthday and although they're not extremely close in age, Eli is surprisingly good at keeping up with Diego. We'll see how horrible he is tomorrow morning, though."

"What do you mean?"

"With Diego being a few years older, he kind of has a bit more an attitude and every time Eli comes home from spending time with him, he's a bit harder to handle."

Matt nodded, "Oh, ok." He cleared his throat, running his hand over the back of his head nervously, "I know I've only talked to him once, but for what it's worth, you seem to be doing a great job with him." And then he motioned to Gus next to him, "with both of them."

Gabby was caught off guard Matt's words and met his eyes, unsure of what exactly to say. "Thanks, it's nice to hear that. You'd be surprised to hear how quick people are to judge my every move when it comes to raising two boys by myself."

"Well there's no judging here," Matt assured.

Shay shared a knowing look with Kelly, a small smirk hiding behind her drink. There was a knock on the door and she jumped up, "pizza's here!"

With her hands full, Shay kicked the apartment door shut and headed towards the kitchen, "Casey! Come help me with plates and drinks."

Gus looked up, his eyes wide as she Matt stood up from the couch. "You want anything to drink?" Matt asked Gabby.

"Water is fine, thanks."

"And Gus?"

Gabby pulled the empty sippy cup from Gus' bag, "whatever juice is available."

"Hey!" Severide called as Matt started towards the kitchen, "what about me?"

Matt stopped and looked over, "Didn't think I had to ask. Another beer, right?"

Severide grinned, holding up his nearly empty beer bottle, "ah man, you know me too well."

"Or you're just too predictable!" Shay called from the kitchen.

Matt joined Shay in the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, "what kind of juice do you have?"

"There should be some apple juice in there." Shay sat some plates down on the counter and watched Matt in amusement. "Look at you, already catering to her kids."

Matt's head snapped up and he glanced back out into the living room, Gabby was too busy reading the book to Gus to have heard. "Keep your voice down, will you?"

"I think it's cute."

"It's nothing."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you spent a lot of time asking about her right after the picnic," Shay gave Casey a knowing look. "She could use a good guy like you. So could the boys. You're great with kids, we all saw that when you were taking care of Ben and Griffin."

Matt shook his head, "that was different." He sighed and cast another quick glance in Gabby's direction, "she's got a wall up, Shay."

"She's just waiting for the right guy to come and tear it down." She nudged Matt with her elbow. "And I think maybe you just might be that guy. You should ask her out and if she uses the boys as an excuse, tell her I'll gladly babysit."

"Are you sure there aren't any lingering feelings for anyone else? Gus isn't even a year old."

"Now that I can assure you of. That relationship had long ended before Gus was even born."

"Oh?" Matt furrowed a brow. "What happened?"

Shay shook her head, "it's not my place to say. Just know that while Gabby is one of the strongest people I've ever met, that doesn't mean she hasn't been broken before."

"Hey!" Severide yelled from the living room. "How long can it take to grab a few drinks and plates?"

Shay rolled her eyes, "we're coming!" She stacked the plates on top of the pizza boxes and headed for the living room. "Get the drinks," she called over her shoulder to Matt.

* * *

><p>"Seems like this is turning into a bit of a routine," Gabby joked as Matt walked with her out to her car. Once again, her hands were full with a sound asleep Gus weighing her arms down. Like she had hoped, the infant had fallen asleep and had given Gabby a good two hours to enjoy some adult conversation.<p>

Matt shrugged and opened the back door to Gabby's car, "not a bad one, I hope."

"No," Gabby shook her head, unsure of what exactly to say. "No, it's definitely appreciated." she carefully lowered Gus into his car seat hoping he would remain asleep through the transition. Just as she snapped together the restraints he startled awake, fussing. "Hey, hey," Gabby soothed, running her hand over the top of his head, "you're ok. We're going home." She turned around to get his bottle of the bag she'd sat next to her feet and was surprised to see Matt had already gotten it and was holding it out to her. "Thanks."

Matt stepped back as Gabby moved to shut the car door. "Better?" He asked.

"Much. I know I'm supposed to be trying to wean him away from the bottle so he's completely off of it by the time he's a year old but it's basically become a comfort object for him. "

"Makes sense." Matt slipped his hands in his pockets and leaned back on his heels. "So uh…" he was interrupted by Gabby's phone ringing.

She glanced at the screen, "it's my brother. I have to take this. I'm sure I'll be seeing you around."

"Yeah, ok." Matt held the car door open for her, "stay safe." He shut the door and gave a quick half wave before turning around and heading to his own car that was parked across the street.


	3. Chapter 3

_So I had this chapter completely written and then decided it was awful so I started over. I feel like this chapter is giving the story a bit of a flow. Not sure if that makes sense, I should be sleeping right now but all your lovely reviews made me want to get this finished so I could post it tonight!-Rebecca_

How Will I Know

Chapter Three

Gabby walked into the boys' bedroom, struggling to hold onto a very energetic Gus; his legs flailed to a beat only he knew as he drank happily from his bottle. "You need to get dressed, Elijah. We have to be ready by the time your uncle gets here. I can't be late to work again."

"I'm still sleepy, mommy," Eli whined.

"I know it's early, baby but I'm sure Uncle Antonio will let you sleep in the car during the ride back to his place." It was early, six a.m. early but whenever she let Eli stay in bed until six thirty on the mornings of her early shifts, something always happened and she would just barely make it to work on time. She dug through the basket of clean clothes she hadn't found time to put away and found an outfit for Eli. She sat the clothes on his bed, "come on, get dressed."

She turned back to the basket and found an outfit for Gus before settling him on the changing table. "I know, I know, you hate getting dressed," Gabby said to her youngest as he fidgeted. "If you had it your way, you'd be in nothing but a diaper all the time." She looked over her shoulder for a brief second and was happy to see Eli up and getting dressed.

Eli's mop top appeared through the new of the shirt. "Is Uncle Antonio gonna take us to the zoo today?"

"Who told you that?" She'd wanted it to be a surprise but no matter how much Gabby tried to keep conversations away from Eli, he always found a way to hear about it them. With the summer holiday ending in a little over a month, Eli would be starting kindergarten and Gabby wanted to make sure he'd gone on a few trips. Even if that meant without her. Between work and the lack of extra money, it was hard to plan cool things for the boys. With Gus, she wasn't too concerned—he was too young to remember much of anything but with Eli, he was old enough to remember. And he was old enough to understand when other kids in the family were constantly talking about the different places they had visited and the fun things they had done.

"I heard you talking on the phone yesterday."

"You hear everything, don't you?" She joked. "But yes, your uncle is taking you guys to the zoo today so please be on your best behavior, ok?" It was a bit of a fight, but she had managed to get Gus dressed and sat him down on the floor. "Can you go get Gus' shoes from the living room?"

Eli ran out of the room and down the hall, followed close by Gus. She stuffed a few diapers and an extra outfit for each kid in Gus' bag and quickly zipped it up.

"Mommy!" she heard Eli call from the living room. "Uncle Antonio is here! Can I open the door?"

Gabby hurried down the hall and checked the peep hole. Sure enough, her brother was standing on the other side. She moved away so Eli could get to the door. "Go ahead."

* * *

><p>Gabby checked her watch, another half hour and her shift was over. She made her way to the nurses' station, hoping the next thirty minutes would go by quick and without any major incident.<p>

"Gabby?"

Gabby looked up at the sound of her name and couldn't help but smile, "hey, Lieutenant Matt!"

Matt grinned, "just Matt is fine."

"Right, sorry." She could feel the red creep into her cheeks. "So uh, what are you doing here? Are you hurt?"

"No, I actually came to check on a victim…actually, uh, that's a lie." He laughed nervously and shook his head. "I came to see you."

"Me?"

"Yeah, uh, wanted to see if you'd like to maybe go out with me sometime?"

Gabby's jaw nearly dropped, "Out of all the available women, you want to go out with me? Maybe you've forgotten already but I've got two kids. That's some serious baggage."

Matt shook his head, "nope. I haven't forgotten."

Suddenly aware of the handful of coworkers that were listening to every word, she motioned for them to walk. "Uh, can we walk and talk?"

"Sure."

"I have a pretty hectic life, Matt."

He shrugged, "Well who doesn't?"

"I'm not really looking for anything serious."

"What's so serious about a cup of coffee?"

Gabby chuckled slipped her hands into the pockets of her scrubs. "Some days, it's the only thing that keeps me going."

"Well then it's set! You need coffee and I've offered to buy you coffee."

She stopped walking and turned so she was facing him. She met his eyes, trying to read them. "You're really serious about this, aren't you?"

"Absolutely."

Gabby sighed and rubbed the tension from her neck as she mulled his question over. Antonio had mentioned he'd probably take the boys out to dinner before dropping them back off at her place which gave her a bit of a window. "What are you doing in thirty minutes?"

"I uh…well nothing."

"Meet me at the coffee place across the street?"

Matt grinned and gave a quick nod, "I'll see you then!"

Gabby took a sip of her coffee, her eyes meeting his over the rim of her cup, "you didn't have to pay."

"My suggestion, my bill."

"Fair enough but I think things are a little unbalanced."

Matt sat his own up down and looked at Gabby, confused, "What do you mean?"

"You already know a lot about me and I hardly know anything about you."

"I don't really think I know a lot about you."

Gabby raised a brow, "Well you know more about me than I know about you."

"You sure about that? Shay hasn't been feeding you any info on me, has she?"

"I should be asking you the same thing." She leaned into the table and folded her arms in front of her. "But no, not really. She pointed you out at the Memorial Day picnic but to be honest, I kind of brushed her off."

Matt put his hand to his heart and feigned hurt, "ouch."

Gabby rolled her eyes, not about to admit that she was a bit amused. "Oh get over yourself," she sassed back. "So tell me something about yourself?"

"Well, I'm a lieutenant…"

"Something I don't know," Gabby interrupted.

Matt grinned, she didn't beat around the bush at all. "Ok, ok. Long story short, I was born and raised in Chicago. Transferred to 51 about three years ago. By the way the whole house talked about you when I got there, I'm assuming it was not too long after you had left. Uh…" he shrugged, "I have one older sister who has a ten year old daughter. And uh, I've got a mother who lives in an assisted living home not too far outside of the city. I do freelance construction on the side…" He shrugged, "that's really about it. Ok, your turn."

"You should just ask all your coworkers," she joked.

"But I'm asking you."

Gabby sighed, "Well you know about Eli and Gus. And I don't know how much interaction you have with Chicago's finest but I have an older brother, Detective Antonio Dawson."

"I actually worked with him about a year ago on a big arson case." Matt shook his head in amusement, "I don't know why I didn't make the connection before." He grinned, "See? I've already met your kids and your brother."

"Yes, but Antonio is a bit more scary when he's in protective big brother mode." She tilted her head thoughtfully, "which is basically all the time. He's picked apart every single guy I've ever dated down to asking what the color of their first car was."

Matt laughed, "Well I'd like to consider myself a well put together guy."

Gabby sat her up down before it even got to her lips and narrowed her eyes at Matt for his choice of words. "What's that supposed to mean? What have Leslie and Kelly told you?"

Matt sat up straighter, a bit caught off guard by Gabby's sudden change in demeanor. "Nothing really. Did I say something wrong?"

"Just…" she shook her head, "no, you didn't. Sorry."

"Everybody has a past, Gabby." Matt said, hoping to ease whatever fears she was keeping at bay.

Gabby sighed, her resolve was slowly fading. She enjoyed talking to him, but she didn't want to fall back into her old habits and mess everything up again. "I'm not looking for anything serious."

"And I don't want to rush anything either but I like you, Gabby."

"I can't bring you into Eli and Gus' life. I've already messed up and given Eli so much instability, I can't do that again."

"Ok, then how about a compromise?"

"I'm listening."

"You like my company, right?"

"I do," Gabby admitted. "But..."

"No buts. Let me just take you out on a real date. We can take things as slow as you want. I don't want to confuse Eli and Gus and I understand if you don't want me around them until…" motioned between the two of them. "Until you feel like this is secure."

Her phone started to ring and she glanced down at it, "Shit, it's Antonio. I've gotta go." She picked up her cup of coffee and stood up; they'd spent so much time talking that she'd hardly drank any of it. "But I'm taking this with me."

Matt stood up with her, "Your brother calls at the worst times."

Gabby looked at him, "what do you mean?"

"The last time we were talking and he called…I was gonna ask you out."

"Oh. Well, he does have really bad timing."

"But the date? That's a yes, right?"

"Hold on," Gabby answered her phone. "Hey, Antonio. Are you at my place?" She listened carefully to her brother, "I know, I got caught up with something. I'll be there in ten minutes. Just let yourself in." She ended the call and looked back up at Matt, "I'll have to find a sitter."

"Shay already volunteered."

"Of course she did." She opened up the phone book in her phone, "What's your number?"

* * *

><p>Gabby's keys dangled as she unlocked the apartment door and pushed it open. She grinned at the sight that greeted her. Gus was sitting on the floor in nothing but a diaper and Eli was on the couch, happily eating an ice-cream cone. "Hey babies!"<p>

"Ma!"

Antonio came down the hallway, holding a pair of pajamas. "Gus kind of had an incident with his ice-cream."

Gabby laughed as she picked up her youngest, "wouldn't be the first time. It's bath night, anyways." She kissed his check and ran her hand through his sticky hair. "But both boys look happy, so today must have been a success." She looked over at Eli. "Did you have fun, buddy?"

"Lots! I got to pet a giraffe!"

"You did?"

The five year old nodded, "yep!"

Gabby turned her attention to her brother, "thanks for doing this. I'll pay you back for the tickets and whatever else you bought for them today."

Antonio shook his head, "we do this every time, Gabs. It's my job as their uncle to spoil them." He waved his phone, "I'll go through and see what decent pics I managed to get and send them to you."

"You don't know how much this means to me or the boys. I know things have been a little rocky…"

"Stop. The past is the past." He took in her appearance, noting she was still in her scrubs, "with what you're wearing, I guess it's safe to say you didn't go meet some guy." Gabby looked away and he sighed, "or maybe you did?"

Gabby shrugged, "it was just coffee. You actually know him and not because he's a criminal."

"Oh yeah?" Antonio raised a brow, slightly intrigued. "Is he a cop?"

"Nope. He's a firefighter."

"Who?"

"Matt Casey."

Antonio nodded, "huh."

Gabby narrowed her eyes, "What does 'huh' even mean?"

He shrugged, "nothing. I gotta get back home, told Diego we'd make s'mores." He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Love you. Be careful."


	4. Chapter 4

How Will I Know

Chapter Four

"Finally," Gabby muttered as she slipped out the door towards one of the areas behind the hospital where a lot of medical personnel went to find a few minutes of calm. She only had a few more hours left of her shift but she was going to scream if she didn't get some sort of breather between then and now. The past few days had been nothing but work. She'd barely seen the boys and when she was home with them, they were usually sleeping. It was times like this that she felt like a horrible mother.

And that's what was keeping her from calling Matt.

It was a game of tug of war in her head. On one hand, he seemed like a great guy—cute, hardworking, got along with her kids…the list was practically endless. But on the other hand, her track record when it came to men wasn't exactly a clean one and after how things ended with Gus' dad, Gabby fell head first into a major wake-up call. She'd learned her lesson. Stop trusting men and falling into toxic relationships. No more hook ups, no more having a guy play family with her kids. She shook her head, still so angry at herself for letting Lance into her and Eli's life. But even good things can come from mistakes, and that's exactly what Gus was. A positive that came from a negative. Gabby wouldn't trade either of her boys for the world. All she could do now was focus on their future and not make stupid decisions like her past seemed to show a clear record of her doing so.

"Dawson!"

Gabby jumped and looked up to see Shay walking her way. "Hey. Did you just transport a patient?"

"Yeah, minor car accident. Victim was just shaken up but insisted on getting checked out."

"That's good."

Shay crossed her arms and titled her head, trying to gauge Gabby's mood. "Everything ok?"

Gabby shrugged, "just a lot on my mind."

"Does it have anything to do with certain firefighter?"

"You heard about the coffee..." she trailed off, not wanting to call it date.

"I did. I'm a little disappointed I didn't hear it from you," joked.

"Yeah, sorry. It's been a long couple of days."

"You're not having second thoughts about date number two, are you?" Shay asked.

"I don't want to mess up again. It's a pattern with me; meet a guy, hook up with him, fall for him, end up pregnant and alone. I can't do that again, I can't. I can't bring someone into Eli and Gus' lives only to…." She closed her eyes, the headache that had been lingering had suddenly hit full force. "I've messed up so many times…"

"We all make mistakes, Gabby but that doesn't mean you should stop living. At least tell me this, the other guys, did they put this much effort into getting a first date with you?"

"No but to be honest, you and I both know it hasn't taken that much for a guy to woo me in the past."

"Which is why you should step up your standards! You deserve so much better! I've never understood why you've always thought the best you could do was a wannabe thug!" Shay could tell she had hit the nail on the head with Gabby. "I swear, Matt is really into you, he doesn't just want to woo you, screw you and then lose you."

Gabby couldn't help but laugh at Shay's choice of words, "did you just come up with that?"

"Sure did."

"Impressive."

"Thanks." A thought hit Shay, "how about we do a double date?" She tilted her head thoughtfully, "well, kind of a double date. Kelly and I won't be on a date…just you and Matt….but if it will make you feel a bit more comfortable."

"Then who will babysit?" Gabby shoved her hands into the pockets of her scrubs, "because I can assure you, if I ask my brother to babysit so I can go see Matt, he just might freak."

"Did you tell Antonio about Matt?"

"Yeah and I have no idea why." She leaned against the wall of the building, taking a deep breath. She'd been asking herself why she'd mentioned Matt to her brother over the past few days. Antonio was never keen on the men she went out with, granted, most of them were grade 'A' assholes; but after just a cup of coffee, she'd already spilled to her brother about Matt. "Apparently they worked together a while ago on an arson case?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." She shrugged, "well at least if things turn serious you don't have to worry about the uncomfortable moment where the boyfriend meets the big brother."

Gabby rolled her eyes, "why do I feel like you already have everything planned out for me and Matt?"

Shay grinned, "Because you know me too well."

"Well please hold back, I'm not looking for anything too serious."

* * *

><p>As soon as Gabby had changed out of her scrubs and back into the clothes she'd started out in this morning, she dug her phone from her purse and checked her messages and missed phone calls. She half expected to see something from Matt but had remembered that she had never given him her number; she just had his. She read through the text messages from her cousin and brother, making sure everything was ok before finding Matt's number in her phone book and dialing it.<p>

It went straight to voicemail. _Hey, it's Matt Casey, I'm probably working so leave me a message and I'll get back to you._

"Hey, Matt…it's Gabby, Gabby Dawson. I uh…sorry it's taken me a few days to get back to you. If you're still interested in a date I'm definitely interested. Anyways, uh, call me back. Bye."

Gabby groaned as she ended the message; could she have sounded anymore lame? She shook her head, shaking the negative thoughts from her mind and tossed her phone back in her purse before leaving the employee locker room.

She'd just shut the door to her car when her phone started to ring. She dug through her purse, finding her phone and grinning at the name that flashed across the screen. "Hey," she answered.

"Hey, yourself. Gotta be honest, I was a little worried you weren't gonna call."

"I just needed some more time to think about it."

"And did you?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"Are you free tomorrow night?"

Gabby could hear the grin in Matt's response. "How does seven sound?"

* * *

><p>Gabby stood in front of the mirror, taking one last look at her appearance before grabbing her clutch and heading into the living room. She'd already fed both boys and gotten them in their pajamas so all Shay had to do was watch them for an hour or two, give them a snack and put them to bed.<p>

"Remember, you listen to Leslie, ok?" Gabby said to Eli as she took another look at herself in the small mirror by the front door. She found herself feeling a little self-conscious about her hair; she couldn't remember the last time she'd worn her hair down and in its natural state of curls.

Eli didn't even bother to look up from his line of hot wheel cars he'd arranged across the living room floor and nodded. "I know, mommy. Best behavior."

"That's right." She turned to the playpen that Gus was standing up in and picked him up, "and what about you, baby? You're going to be on your best behavior for Auntie Leslie, aren't you?"

"Ma!" Not used to seeing his mother's hair down, Gus reached for the curls, eyes wide with curiosity.

Gabby shook her head and stopped Gus' hand. "No hair." There was a knock on the door. Gabby checked the peep hole before unlocking the door and letting Shay in. "Hey."

Shay's eyes widened as she took in the dress Gabby had on; a form fitting black dress that was cut low enough to show a bit of cleavage but not so much that she looked desperate. The dress fell right above her knees and she had finished off the outfit with a pair of black heels.

"Looks like someone's looking to get some tonight!"

Gabby's eyes widened, "Leslie!" She nodded her head towards Eli.

"Oh he has no idea what I'm talking about." Shay walked farther into the apartment. "Hey Augustus Samuel!" She eagerly took into her own arms. "I know there's another middle name but I can't remember it." Shay perched Gus on her hip and looked back over at Gabby. "Ok, girlie, anything I need to know?"

"Well they've both had dinner, been bathed and are in their pajamas. If you could just give them a snack before bed that would be great. Gus usually passes out around eight and Eli is usually in bed by nine but I told him that if he's good you might let him watch tv a little bit longer. Your call, though."

Shay nodded, "got it." She leaned in, "If this thing goes well into the night and you end up crashing at Matt's place, that's totally cool with me, just send me a text."

"It's just a date, Shay." Gabby insisted.

"I'm just saying, it's been a while and if one thing leads to another…"

"Leslie!"

Shay put her free hand up in defense, "ok, ok."

Gabby checked the time on her phone, "I should get going. He's supposed to meet me outside in a few minutes." She slipped her phone in her clutch and turned to Eli, "Have a good night, Eli."

Eli looked up and noticed for the first time his mom wasn't in her work clothes, he scrunched his face up in confusion, "where are you going?"

"I'm going to go have dinner with a friend."

"But you ate dinner with me and Gus."

"Well, yes, but I'm going to go catch up with a friend."

He mulled over his mom's words for a few seconds before nodding, seemingly accepting her response. "Oh, ok." He stood up and stepped over his cars, giving his mom a hug. "Te amo," he whispered.

"Te amo," Gabby whispered back, kissing his cheek. She stood up and turned her attention to Gus, she brushed her hand across his cheek and leaned in to kiss his nose, "te amo." She pulled back and looked at Shay, "thanks, again."

Shay followed Gabby to the door. "No worries."

Gabby stopped and turned back at Shay, a worried look on her face, "does this dress really make me look desperate? Because that's not really the look I'm going for. And I definitely don't want him to think that I'm some sort of cheap lay."

"Gabriela Dawson, you could be wearing a paper bag and Matt's jaw would still drop." She nudged her out the door, "now go."

The car ride to their destination—which had remained unknown by Gabby, consisted of small talk. Nothing too deep. Both of them were dealing with the first date jitters and didn't want to leave too much silence for fear of awkwardness setting in.

Gabby was impressed when Matt pulled up to the curb to a new Italian restaurant that was rumored to have a three month waiting list for reservations.

She could feel Matt's eyes on her as she perused the menu. She looked up, her eyes catching his and suddenly feeling a lot more self-conscious than she already did. "What?"

"I know I said it when I picked you up, but you look absolutely beautiful."

Because they were in a dimly lit restaurant, Gabby was hoping Matt didn't see the red that had crept into her cheeks. She smiled shyly, not quite used to compliments—especially from a guy that was interested in her. "Thanks." She cleared her throat nervously, not knowing what else to say. So used a tactic she'd come quite good at using. Deflection. "The boys actually kept themselves busy long enough for me to get ready."

Matt could see the lack of confidence in Gabby and hoped that one day she would believe him when he complimented her. But for that to happen, she had to first give him a chance to prove that there were still good guys out there. He didn't know much about the last guy who'd had gotten—and ruined, the opportunity to know Gabby's heart, but from what he could tell, the guy had taken advantage of it. He'd tried questioning Shay and Severide, but both refused to say much of anything.

"How are the boys?"

"They're good. Eli keeps asking about going back to the firehouse and Gus is becoming a little terror." She pushed her hair from her face and sighed, "He's giving Eli a run for his money."

"You've got two very rambunctious boys."

"Understatement of the year," Gabby joked. Her smile faltered and she fell serious, "but I honestly don't know where I'd be without them. They're my whole world."

Matt smiled, "And I'll bet anything you're just as important to them."

The waiter appeared but it wasn't until he spoke did Gabby pull her eyes away from Matt. "You two ready to order?"

* * *

><p>Matt started to open his car door but stopped when he felt Gabby's hand on his arm. He looked down at her hand before drawing his gaze up to hers.<p>

"Can we just stay here for a little bit?" she whispered.

"Yeah," Matt nodded. "Ok."

"Good."

There was a beat of silence before Matt spoke again. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't want to talk."

"What do you..."

Gabby's lips crashed into Matt's.

Although he was caught completely off guard, it didn't take Matt much time to find his footing. His hands cupped Gabby's face, slowly slipping back and tangling into her dark curls as kiss deepened. Gabby was nearly on top of him, fighting to stay in control of the kiss. Their hands wandered freely, learning the curves of each other's body. Matt knew if he didn't stop things now, then he wouldn't be able to and he wanted to make sure this was what Gabby wanted. Regretfully, he pulled back, panting for air. His eyes searched hers, "we don't have to do this yet. It's just the first date, I don't want you to think I'm only after one thing."

Gabby shook her head, breaking eye contact with him and pulling back. "I know, I know you're not." She ran her hands through her hair and leaned back against the seat of the car. "You're right, though." Her eyes closed briefly as she silently berated herself for being so stupid. The date obviously hadn't went well on his end. "It was just a date. I should...I should go."

"Gabby..." Matt sighed and got out of his car. He hurried around to the passenger side, meeting her as she stepped out of the car. "Hey, hey." He tugged at her hand and she looked up at him.

"It's fine. I get it. You don't need to explain, Matt." Oh god, could the ground just swallow her up whole? She cleared her throat and mustered up a smile. "Thanks for dinner."

"Let me at least walk you to your door."

"No, it's fine. I can manage. I'm sure I'll see you around."

* * *

><p><em>Soo...that's not how I intended on having the date end but my muse got the best of me and a different plot turn took over! Anyways, thanks for all the reviews! Keeps me going! So sorry the update took a bit! Just so you all know, I take my writing very seriously (hoping to one day be a published author for some of my original stuff) so if you ever have any critiques or whatnot, don't be afraid to message me! <em>

_On a side note, Dawsey seems to be in some trouble! But hey, what's a journey without a few bumpy roads. I also get the feeling there is some foreshadowing for Gabby starting to miss life as a paramedic. Just my observations, though. Anyways, review away! :) _


	5. Chapter 5

How Will I Know

Chapter Five

Gabby tried to be quiet as she opened the door enough just to slip inside. She took a breath as she leaned against the door, hoping to get herself together before she saw Shay.

Too late.

"You're back early...hey, hey, what's wrong?" Shay sat the baby monitor down and hurried over to Gabby. "What happened?"

"I'm so stupid."

"Gabby, just tell me what happened."

Gabby kicked her heels off and walked over to the couch. "Long story short, I don't think I'm ready to be dating again."

Shay knew Gabby wasn't telling her everything but she could also see the pure exhaustion in her friend's face and knew the conversation would definitely be continuing tomorrow. She was planning on interrogating Matt as soon as she got to work tomorrow.

After giving Gabby a quick update of the boys' night, Shay bid her friend a goodnight, promising to see her soon.

Gabby had just pulled the covers up to her chin when she heard the little the tiny set of feed pat across the hardwood floor outside her room. A minute later and her door was being pushed open, Eli poking his head into her room.

"Mommy?"

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight?"

Gabby sighed, it didn't happen very often but on occasion, the five year old would ask to sleep in her room. "Elijah…"

"Please? I missed you tonight."

Gabby caved. "Just this one time." She held up the coves so he could climb in.

Eli grinned and shut the door before hurrying over to his mom's bed. He scrambled onto the bed and cuddled into his mother's side. "Te amo, mama."

"Te amo." She kissed his head full of hair.

"To the moon and back?"

"Forever and always."

It wasn't long before Eli was sound asleep and Gabby once again found herself alone in the darkness of the night. Oh how she wished she could push aside all of the thoughts dancing around in her head and fall asleep just as quickly as Eli did. She continued to lay there as the seconds and eventually minutes went by but instead of her eyes growing heaving from exhaustion, they grew heavy from the tears she was trying to hold back.

The following morning, Shay practically marched into Firehouse 51, intent on starting her shift by finding Matt and possibly verbally assaulting him. She found him exactly where she thought she would, in the kitchen. "Casey! Your office, now!"

The forkful of eggs stopped halfway to Matt's mouth and he looked up, his eyes meeting Shay's across the kitchen. "I'm kind of in the middle of eating." And to be honest, he was kind of afraid of Shay right now. The girl wasn't someone to cross.

"And I kind of need to talk to you. So either we can have the conversation in private or we can have it here…" she waved her hand around, "in front of everybody else."

"Fine." Matt dropped his fork on his plate and stood up. He walked past Shay and headed for his office.

Cruz looked between the two, "well we know it's not a lover's quarrel…." He turned his attention to Severide. "Any ideas?"

Kelly shook his head and swallowed his food. "Not getting in the middle of this."

"I bet it has to do with Dawson," Otis commented. "Those two were giving each other looks throughout the entire fourth of July picnic."

Herrmann dropped the newspaper he'd been reading and looked over at Otis in surprise. "Gabby? Our little Gabby Dawson? You think she is hooking up with Casey?"

"Not our business, guys." Severide scooted his chair back and stood up, taking his empty dishes with him.

"Well if Lieutenant's behavior is any indication…then yes, Dawson and Casey are in fact hooking up."

The paramedic who was filling in for the week while Shay's normal partner was on vacation, chuckled under his breath. All eyes landed on him.

"Got something to say, Ross?" Herrmann dared.

Ross shrugged, "what? I went to school with the girl. I've seen how she is with guys. Didn't she just have another kid with a different guy?"

"What's your point, Ross?"

"I'm just saying the girl gets around."

"And I'm just saying you need to shut your fucking mouth!" Severide had been on his way out of the kitchen, not wanting to be a part of the conversation when he'd heard the paramedic's comments. He marched over to the table and got in Ross' face. "You don't know Dawson!"

Ross smirked, "Really? Because-"

"I'd stop if I were you," Herrmann was now standing up, arms crossed as he stared down Ross. "You've already gone too far. You're about to really piss off a whole lot of guys that consider Dawson to be family."

"Ok, fine." Ross put his hands up in surrender. "Just trying to have a little fun."

"Well don't." Cruz bit out.

Back in Matt's office, Shay slammed the door shut and rounded on him. "Care to enlighten me as to why Gabby was nearly in tears when she came home last night?"

"Damnit," Matt mumbled, plopping down in his chair and running a hand through his hair in frustration. "I knew she seemed a little upset but…"

Shay crossed her arms, showing no signs of settling her obvious anger. "But what? What did you say to her, Matt?"

"I turned her down."

"You what?" Shay yelled. "You practically begged her to go on a date with you and then you turn her down when she makes a move? Have you lost your mind?"

"It's not what you think, Shay! Gabby kissed me and things started to get a little heated, I didn't want her to think that sex was the only thing on my mind so I put a stop to it. I thought I was being a gentleman but she took it the wrong way."

The anger started to leave Shay and her body relaxed. "She's scared, Matt."

"I know, I know…." He sighed, "I just wish I knew why. You should have seen the look in her eyes when I stopped her. The way she recoiled…it was almost like I had hit her. And that's when it occurred to me that maybe….the boys, their dad, did he hit Gabby?"

Shay threw her head back in frustration, debating whether or not answer Matt's question truthfully. She leveled her head and met Matt's eyes. "Gus' dad."

"What?"

Shay sighed and leaned against Matt's desk, "this isn't my business to tell, Matt." She cleared her throat, "Gabby's last boyfriend—if you could even call him that, is just Gus' father, not Eli's. And to call him abusive is a bit of an understatement. He conned his way into her life and subsequently into Eli's life. Not only that, but he was a major criminal so he also managed to create a rift between Gabby and her brother."

Matt nodded, trying to take it all in. "And Eli's dad?"

"Never met him. Gabby started working for 51 when Eli was just a few months old. I didn't know her too well so I tried not to ask too many questions. She was very reserved. Despite how strong and smart she was as a paramedic—or now, as a nurse; she's very timid in her personal life." Shay shook her head and stood up straight, "I've said more than enough, Matt. You need to talk to Gabby about this, not me. I'm just hoping this gave you a little bit of an insight on her."

"It did." He grabbed his radio from his desk. "If chief asks, tell him we took the truck out to fuel up."

Shay nodded, "sure thing." But Matt was already out of his office and yelling into the kitchen, "Let's go, guys! We're going for a ride!"

"Where to, Lieutenant?" Cruz asked.

"Lakeshore."

* * *

><p>"Gabby!"<p>

Gabby had been walking across the employee parking lot, just feet away from the automatic double door entrance when she heard Matt's voice. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the bright red engine. She stopped, thankful for the pair of sunglasses that hid her tired eyes.

Matt turned to Cruz, "take a drive around the block."

"Sure thing, boss."

Matt jumped out of the truck and jogged up to Gabby. "Hey, thanks for waiting." With her sunglasses perched over her eyes, Matt couldn't exactly read her. "May I?" He asked, his hands motioning to her sunglasses. Despite herself, Gabby gave a slight nod and Matt pushed her sunglasses atop her head. The lack of sleep was evident in her eyes but it was the slight puffiness around her eyes that confirmed his worries. She had been crying. And recently.

She cleared her throat, "I only have a few minutes until shift starts."

"Then I'll try and make it quick."

"Starting with what you're doing here."

"To clear the air."

Gabby shook her head, "what do you mean?"

"Do you think I didn't have a good time last night?"

"Matt…"

"Because I had a great time and believe me, a huge part of me wanted to finish what you started but I was trying to be a gentleman and show that I didn't have to sleep with you on the first date."

Gabby frowned, more annoyed than anything by Matt's confession. "But I'm a big girl, Matt. I can make decisions for myself."

"I know that," he sighed. "I just get the feeling that the last guy you were with kind of screwed you over and I don't want you to think I'm another one of those guys."

"What did Shay say to you?"

"Nothing that I didn't already figure out on my own."

Gabby raised a brow, she couldn't help but feel a little bit angry towards Matt for thinking he'd figured it out. He thought he'd figured her out. Hell, she hadn't even figured herself out so there was no way he'd figured her out. "Do tell. What is it you believe you've figured out?"

Matt could see the invisible bricks set in place as the wall Gabby had in front of her became taller. He sighed and took a step towards her, taking her free hand in his. "I don't know everything about you, Gabby so I'm not going to even assume to understand or know what you've gone through." He took a breath, "But maybe in the past….with other guys, you haven't been given the amount of respect you deserve. And last night, in my own way, by keeping things from going any further, I guess I was trying to show you that you have my respect."

"I'm not broken," she said, a slight tone of defense evident in her voice.

"That's not what I'm saying," Matt insisted. He sighed, trying to think of a better way to explain it. "I want to treat you with all the respect you deserve and so much more."

Gabby checked her watch, wanting this conversation to be over before it got too deep. She didn't have time for this conversation right now. "I have to go."

"I'll call you later?"

"Ok," she nodded her head. "Yeah, ok."

"Hey, wait." Matt tugged on Gabby's hand, stopping her from going very far. He brushed his lips ever so softly against hers and pulled back, smiling. "Have a good day."

Gabby nodded, speechless. "You, too."

* * *

><p>Eli sat on the edge of his bed, his legs swinging off the side as he watched his mom go through his clothes. "I wish you and Gus could come with me."<p>

"I know, baby. I do too."

Gabby's brother along with his wife and kids, were leaving for their annual summer trip to the Dominican Republic tomorrow morning and Eli was going to take the trip with them. Gabby hadn't been able to get the time off to go with them but she'd agreed to let Eli go. She wasn't sure who was more nervous, her or him. The last time she'd gone more than a day without seeing him was after she'd had Gus and was forced to stay in the hospital for a week.

"Tio Tonio said maybe next year."

"He's right, sweetie. Hopefully next year I can get the time off and Gus will be old enough to go, too." She emptied Gus' things from the monster truck bag she'd been using as a diaper bag and handed it to Eli. "Here, you can put a few toys and books in here. This is the bag that will stay with you on the plane, so make sure it's stuff you really want to take."

Eli took the bag and hopped off the bed, "but this is Gus' bag now."

"Well you're just going to borrow it for the trip."

"Ok. Can I take my fire truck book? And my motorcycle one? I want to show Abuela that I can read."

"Of course you can, buddy." Gabby smiled to herself as she went back to putting together enough outfits for Eli that would last a week and a half. He hadn't even started kindergarten yet and already he was reading. He wasn't great at it but every night she was home, he'd read them a night-time story. A lot of the times Gabby had to help him sound the words out and once in a while just tell him the word; but she'd never been prouder of the educational strides he was making before actually even starting school.

"Do you think we can go visit the firehouse before I leave?"

Gabby zipped up the bag and checked the time. She'd only worked a half day so she could spend some time with Eli before tomorrow morning's flight and they had a few hours before they had to be at Antonio's for dinner. "You know what? I think that's a great idea."

"Really?" Eli's brown eyes widened in excitement. "Seriously?"

Gabby laughed, at Eli's enthusiasm. "Seriously. We'll go as soon as your brother wakes up from his nap."

"Yes!"

It would give Gabby another opportunity to have both Gus and Eli around Matt but in a group setting. She wanted to open herself up to Matt and continue whatever it was they had started but it wasn't just her own heart holding her back; it was the fear of breaking her children's hearts that kept her from really opening up to Matt.

Gabby had taken the opportunity to spend a bit more time on her appearance than normal while was napping.

Gabby was little bit apprehensive about showing up at the firehouse since everybody now knew she was dating Matt? Dating? She thought to herself, was that the right word?

The minute Eli saw Matt, he dropped his mother's hand and went running towards him. "Lieutenant Matt!" Eli's eyes widened as he realized Matt was in all of his gear. "Did you just fight a fire?"

Matt hid his surprise pretty well and glanced up at Gabby who was still making her way into the garage with Gus. He turned his gaze back to Eli. "Sure did, buddy."

"Did you save everybody?"

"Well, it was an empty building so luckily there wasn't anybody inside."

"Oh," Eli nodded. "Well did you save the building?"

"It's going to need some work but it should be ok."

Shay jumped from the back of the rig just as Gabby walked up to it; causing her friend to jump. She smirked, "did not expect to see you here today."

Gabby shrugged and dropped her gaze from the interaction between Eli and Matt; turning her attention to Shay. "Eli leaves for the Dominican Republic with Antonio tomorrow morning and I can't go with him. Since I only worked a half day, I decided we'd do what Eli wanted to do. I won't see him for ten days."

"Oh, so you feel guilty?" Shay smirked, "and here I was hoping maybe it was your urge to see Casey and make up with him." She nudged Gabby, "he's got a pretty roomy office. Not so sure it's soundproof, though."

"Shay!"

Gabby could feel heat on her cheeks. "For your information, Matt stopped by the hospital earlier today."

"Oh trust me, I know."

"How-"

"Hey, Gabby."

Gabby was startled by the familiar voice and turned around, she paled as soon as her eyes met the owner of the voice; confirming the dread that had formed in the pit of her stomach. "Ross…hey..."

"Oh come on," he chuckled, "we know each other too well to be using last names." He smirked, "But it has been awhile."

"Almost six years. I didn't realize you were working for 51." Instinctively, Gabby took a step back, nearly running into Shay.

"It's just temporary."

"Right." Gabby adjusted Gus in her arms and scanned the garage; she didn't see Eli or Matt, so they must have went on into the firehouse. She turned back to Ross, "well, I really can't say that it's been a pleasure running into you again."

Bobby Ross' cocky grin was on full display as he leaned in closer to Gabby, "Whatever you say, _Gabriela_."

Shay watched the interaction between Gabby and Ross in great confusion but also in absolute disgust. The way Ross dragged his eyes up and down Gabby's body while smirking in satisfaction filled Shay with anger. "Don't you have inventory that you could be doing, Ross?"

"On it, _boss._" Ross gave one final smirk before turning around and lifting himself into the back of the ambulance.

"Gabby," Shay spoke, gently nudging her friend's elbow. "Let's head inside."

Gabby nodded, "yeah, ok." She followed Shay into the firehouse and relief washed over her when she spotted Eli in Matt's office, looking at the different pictures hanging on his wall.

"You ok?" Shay whispered.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Gabby assured.

"Can't fool me, Dawson. How do you know Ross?"

"We uh…" Gabby cleared her throat, "we went to school together."

"That's it?"

"As far as I'm concerned," Gabby nodded, "yes, that's it."

Shay didn't believe Gabby for even a minute. "Six years?"

"What?" Gabby couldn't keep her eyes away from Eli, terrified of all the possibilities that could happen with the different people that were currently present in the firehouse.

"You said you hadn't seen Ross in six years."

"Yeah, so?"

"Eli turned five a few months ago." The wheels had already turned in Shay's head, putting two and two together. "He's Eli's dad, isn't he?"

"According to him, he isn't," Gabby bit out angrily.

* * *

><p><em>It's my longest chapter yet! Thanks so much for the amount of reviews! They actually inspire me to write; whenever I'm stuck on a scene, I'll go reread my reviews. Hope those of you that live in the U.S. like me had a great Thanksgiving! And also, thanks to those international readers who take the time to review, too! :) One last thing...we all know Dawsey is endgame on the show...just remember that. <em>


	6. Chapter 6

How Will I Know

Chapter Six

"Wait, so he denies being Eli's father?" Shay shook her head in both shock and disgust. "I always knew Ross was an ass but I didn't realize he was a deadbeat, too."

"We only hooked up a few times…ok, more than a few times. But I wasn't with anybody else at that time." Gabby explained. She knew a little bit about what was said about her. The assumptions that were made. Two kids with two different guys, that right there was enough for peoples' imaginations to run rampant. Despite the reckless choices she'd made in the past, it still gave no one the right to judge her. Even then, though, she felt the need to explain herself to Shay. "I told him as soon as I found out and he flipped out. Long story short, he called me a whore and said he wasn't sure the child was even his. So yes, if you were to ask Ross, he would deny being Eli's father."

"Damn," Shay whispered. "With a brother like yours, it's a wonder Ross still has two working legs."

Gabby cleared her throat and dropped her gaze from Shay's, "yeah, well, I might have told Antonio that the pregnancy was the result of a one night stand and that I wasn't really sure who the guy was."

"Dawson!" Shay was shocked. "You let Antonio believe it was just a one-time thing?"

"Seemed like the simple thing to do at the time."

"Am I interrupting girl talk?" Matt walked up behind them, causing both women to jump slightly. He laughed, "I'll take that as a yes."

Shay rolled her eyes, "you just want to know if we're talking about you." She turned to Gabby, "you're going to find out sooner or later, but Casey is a bit full of himself."

Gabby met Matt's eyes and grinned, "yeah, I kind of got that impression already."

Matt matched Gabby's smile, "really? You two are going to double team me?" He shook his head and turned his attention to Gus, holding his palm out. The toddler grinned and grasped a few of Matt's fingers. "What about you, buddy? Are you on my side?" Matt looked back over at Gabby. "Any closer to walking?"

With Ross still working on inventory in the back of the ambulance and Eli hanging out in the break room with Severide, Gabby relaxed a little and focused her attention on her youngest son.

"Not really," she replied. "And as mean as it sounds, that's ok with me. I'm still trying to get rest of the apartment baby proofed so Gus spends most of his time either in his playpen or in his walker." She rolled her eyes, "not to mention, the bathroom door won't completely shut and my lazy landlord has basically been ignoring me for the past two weeks."

"Well why don't I stop by and fix it?"

"Would you?" Gabby asked. "I mean, as long as it's no trouble for you…"

Matt shook his head, "spending time with you is never a trouble for me."

Shay was enjoying watching the interaction between the two so much that she nearly cussed out loud when she heard the alarm go off for ambulance 61. "That's my cue," she kissed Gus' cheek and patted Gabby's arm. "I'll call you tonight. And tell Eli I said have a good time in the Dominican." She rushed away, leaving the three alone.

Another ring went off, this time it was Gabby's phone. "Oh, that's me." Gabby groaned, realizing her phone was buried in her purse. She looked over at Matt, almost embarrassed. "Can you hold him for a second?"

"Oh," Matt was completely caught off guard. "Yeah, sure." He barely had time to answer before Gus was in his arms. He braced himself for the toddler's cries and was surprised when all the little boy did was look up at him with big brown eyes that mirrored his mother's. "Hey, Gus." Matt adjusted Gus so he was at his side. "Looks like you're starting to warm up to me. I guess third time's a charm," he joked. The little boy remained unimpressed, "not funny? Ok, I'll work on my jokes."

She laughed, catching the end of what Matt had said and sent a quick reply to the text she'd received before slipping her phone into her back pocket. "Don't take it personal. He can keep a serious face with the best of them." She tickled Gus' side, earning a small giggle in response. "You just have to know where his tickle spots are." She took him back into her arms, "see, there's your smile."

Matt smiled, he loved watching Gabby interact with her children; it seemed to be the only time she ever let her guard completely down. "So uh…" he started, remembering what he'd heard Shay say before she left for the call. "You guys are taking a trip to the Dominican Republic?"

"Eli is. He's going with my brother and his family. I can't get off work for that long of a time so Gus and I are going to stay here in Chicago." She checked her watch, "speaking of which, we have to go. We're having dinner at my brother's tonight."

"Good luck trying to get Eli away from the dog. I think they've become best friends," Matt quipped, leading the way into the break room.

"Hey! There's our lieutenant!" Herrmann called. "We were beginning to think you'd be replaced by the youngest lieutenant in Chicago's history, Eli Dawson."

"I'm not going to be just a firefighter, Mr. Herrmann." Eli said, jumping up from where he'd been playing with Pouch.

Gabby raised a brow, curious as to what Eli had decided he was going to be when he grew up. It changed at least once a week. "Oh yeah? What else are you going to be?" If Antonio heard ever found out that Eli would rather be a firefighter over a cop; she'd never hear the end of it.

"I'm gonna be a superhero! So I can keep people safe like Tio, put out fires like Matt and make people all better like you!"

"He dreams big," Severide quipped, ruffling Eli's hair.

"Ah, he gets it from his mom," Herrmann commented, turning to Gabby. "When I first met you, you had a list of goals at least half a mile long."

"Oh yeah?" Matt asked, curious.

Gabby cleared her throat and shot Herrmann a small smile, "As fun as it would be to take a trip down memory lane, the boys and I have dinner plans at my brother's." She turned her attention to Eli. "Come on, Elijah. We have to get going if we want to make it to Antonio's in time for dinner."

"Oh! I have to tell Matt!" Eli turned his attention to the lieutenant. "Guess what?"

"What, buddy?"

"I'm gonna fly on a plane tomorrow! I've never been on one before."

Gabby shook her head, grinning, "you've been on a plane before, Eli. You were just a baby so you don't remember."

"Well," Eli pursed his lips together in thought. "That's kind of the same thing if I don't remember it."

"If you say so, let's go, baby. Tell everybody thanks for letting you hang out with them."

"I have to go to the bathroom, though!"

Gabby was sure Eli was just trying to drag out having to leave the firehouse but nodded, "ok. Come on, I'll show you where it is."

"I'm gonna use the firefighter's bathroom, right?" Eli asked as he walked down the hall between Matt and Gabby.

"Yep. It's the bathroom that we all use," Matt answered. They stopped at the end of the hallway and Matt pushed the blue door open, making sure the bathroom was empty. "There ya go, kiddo." Once the door had stopped swinging and settled shut, Matt turned his attention to Gabby and grinned. "See? He likes me already."

"Yes, but he only knows you as Lieutenant Matt. My _friend._" If Gabby was being completely honest, though, she was relieved that both boys were taking a liking to Matt.

"Buzz kill," Matt joked. He glanced over his shoulder and made sure nobody was watching before slipping his arm around Gabby's waist and pulling her closer to him. Which wasn't that much with Gus in her arms.

"Matt," Gabby whispered, completely caught off guard. "What are you doing?"

"Well I was hoping I could sneak a quick kiss before Eli comes back but you're doing an awful lot of talking." He took Gabby's small smile as an invitation and pressed his lips to hers, barely kissing her before they heard the door start to open and had to quickly pull apart.

"Ok!" Eli announced, completely oblivious. "I'm ready now."

"Well it was nice seeing you again, Eli." Matt put his fist out and grinned when Eli bumped it with his own little fist. "Have a good trip, ok?" Next time you're around, I'll show you how to use the hose."

Eli grinned, "yes!"

* * *

><p>Dinner with Antonio, Laura and the kids was pretty uneventful. Gabby was content to sit back and eat; letting the kids dictate the dinner conversation. If she was honest, she didn't think she'd be able to have a focused conversation at the moment. Once she and the boys had left the firehouse, her thoughts immediately went to her run in with Ross. She'd been able to shrug off the worry one Ross had left to go on a call and she'd been consumed with talking to Matt but as soon as she got into her car, all of the stress came flooding back.<p>

Antonio knew the minute Gabby walked into the house that something was bothering her.

"Ok, spill." Antonio said once he was alone in the kitchen with Gabby.

"What?" Gabby asked even though she knew it was useless to stall the inevitable.

"Come on, Gabs, let's skip the bullshit…what's on your mind?"

Gabby shrugged and turned her attention back to cleaning the dishes. "I guess I'm just a little worried about Eli." That part was true.

"He's gonna have fun." Antonio assured her. "And I'll make sure he spends plenty of time with mom and dad. You'll get phone calls every night, constant picture updates and you know I will guard him with my life."

"I know you will, Antonio." She wiped her hands dry and sat the dish towel back on the counter before turning to completely face her brother. "I've never gone that long without seeing him. But I trust you…probably the most out of anyone."

"Well a girl should have unwavering trust in her big brother." Antonio crosses his arms, "but are you sure this has nothing to do with a guy?"

"What? What do you mean?" There was no way he could've found out about Ross.

Antonio raised a brow. "Lieutenant Casey? Or has that run it's course already?"

Gabby felt the relief wash over her and rolled her eyes, "if you must know, we had a date last night." She crossed her arms, "but that's all the details you're getting."

"I have a feeling that's all the details I want."

She gasped, "Antonio? Whatever it is you are insinuating, did not happen!" Although, she did try to make it happen.

Antonio put his hands up in defense, "hey, I'm not insinuating anything. Just be careful, Gabs. From what I can remember about Casey, he's a good guy. But we all know your track record…"

"Yeah, yeah…" Gabby rolled her eyes. "You've given me the talk plenty of times."

"And maybe this time you'll actually listen."

She groaned, not wanting to go down this road with her brother again. "Antonio, please don't…"

"Ok, ok." Antonio draped an arm around Gabby and pulled her close, kissing her forehead. "But you know you'll always be my responsibility. Even if you are about to turn the big 2-5."

"Says the thirty five year old who still can't do his own laundry."

"Hey now, I can't help it ma always _insisted _on doing my laundry."

"Yeah, yeah...whatever you say, bro."

It was another hour or so before Gabby bid her eldest son good-bye, smothering him with at least a dozen hugs and kisses.

The following morning, Gabby awoke to her phone buzzing across her night stand. She winced against the sunlight that was sneaking in through the curtains and reached for her phone. Antonio had texted her about an hour an a half ago letting her know they were boarding the plane so she knew it couldn't be him. She blinked a few times until her vision went from seeing double to one solid sight. She smiled sleepily when she realized it was a text from Matt.

_I bet it's a bit quiet there without Eli._

_Too quiet. _She checked the time, it was a little after seven. _You off shift?_

_Yep. Just left the firehouse. _

Gabby's thumbs hovered over the keyboard on her screen as she debated whether or not to text the first thing that came to her mind. She did._ . Come over? I'll make breakfast. _

He responded almost instantly. _I might be standing outside your door. I know it's uninvited but I come in peace and by that, I mean I have coffee.__  
><em>

Gabby's eyes widened and she hurried out of bed to check her appearance. She hastily pulled her hair up and sent Matt a quick text. _Give me five minutes__  
><em>

After checking on Gus to make sure he was still sleeping, Gabby continued towards the bathroom to at least make herself a bit presentable. She quickly brushed her teeth and hurried back down the hall to the door.

She willed herself to relax before unlocking the door and opening it. She smiled the minute she looked up and met his eyes, "hey."

"Morning!" He let his eyes briefly trail Gabby's body and her attire—or lack of one, for that matter.

Suddenly remembering what little she'd worn to bed-short gray cotton shorts and a faded red tank top, Gabby felt a bit self-conscious under Matt's gaze.

He cleared his throat and met her gaze. "Sorry. I didn't mean to stare, it's just...you're just...beautiful." He felt his face flush as he tripped over his words. "Uh, is this a bad time? Were you still sleeping? I can come back later?"

Gabby shook her head, "Nope. You've got coffee, you're staying." She moved over so he could step into her apartment and shut the door behind him. "So which one's mine?" Matt handed her the cup in his left hand Gabby happily took a sip. She grinned, "you remembered."

"Of course I did." He took a step closer, the courage that had convinced him to stop by in the first had somehow been renewed and he removed the cup of coffee from her hands. He sat it aside on the coffee table along with his own cup. "So I have to admit, I might have had other intentions than just dropping off a cup of coffee."

"Oh?" Gabby asked, the butterflies in her stomach that had made habit of coming around whenever she was with Matt had reappeared. "What kind of intentions?"

Matt's eyes dropped to Gabby's lips, "For starters, I think I might have left things a little unfinished the other night after our date…" He cupped her face in his hands and leaned down to kiss her. First his kisses were soft, silently asking her if this was what she wanted. He got his answer when her hands slipped around his neck, pushing his head down farther, deepening the kiss.

He guided her up against the wall, taking control and showing her how much he wanted it; how sorry he was for stopping her advances the last time they were alone.

Suddenly Gabby was pressing her hands against Matt's chest and putting space between them. She looked up at him, her gaze vulnerable. She tried to catch her breath and thoughts. "I….we...we really shouldn't be doing this."

"And why is that?"

"It could get complicated."

"But isn't that life?" Matt countered. "Making choices and then dealing with the consequences. Whether they be bad or good?"

Gabby raised a brow, "don't get all philosophical on me, Casey."

"Ok, ok," Matt chuckled. "I'll make it simpler. Do you want this?"

Her eyes not leaving his, Gabby nodded. Without another word, she took his hand and started leading him towards her bedroom.

* * *

><p><em>Hope you liked it! Reviews are lovely!<em>

_I can't even talk about the finale right now._


	7. Chapter 7

How Will I Know

Chapter Seven

"Damn, girl, what is this? Christmas in July? You're all lit up like a freaking Christmas tree." Shay smirked as the blush crept into Gabby's cheeks. "Oh come on, don't be embarrassed."

"What are you doing here?" Gabby asked. Since Matt was off today, she knew Shay was too.

"You're changing the subject but I'm gonna let it slide. I'm here to have lunch with Kendra."

"And here I thought you were here to see me," Gabby quipped. She handed off a patient's chart to another nurse and walked around the counter of the nurse's station. "I think Kendra's assisting in a surgery. Wanna walk with me to get some coffee while you wait?"

Shay smirked, "and how many cups does that make for you today?"

"You're relentless, you know that?"

"It's what I do best."

"So I've figured out." Gabby could feel someone's eyes on her and looked up to see Hallie glaring as she passed by with another doctor. "That makes glare number four today."

Shay's eyes caught Hallie's gaze. "I see her attitude hasn't changed," she mumbled to Gabby.

"You know Dr. Thomas? I have no idea what I did to her but she has been nothing but cold to me these past two weeks."

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"She's Matt's ex fiancé."

"Oh," Gabby whispered. "Well I guess that explains it."

Shay shook her head, "that doesn't give her a right to be bitch to you, though. Want me to talk to her?"

"No, no." Gabby shook her head, "that'll just make things worse."

* * *

><p>Gabby was in the beginning stages of preparing dinner when her phone started to ring. She reached up and grabbed the box of macaroni before hurrying to the kitchen table to get her phone. Not recognizing the number, Gabby sat her phone back down and let it ring. If it was something important, whoever was on the other line would leave a message. Her phone beeped, signaling the missed call and without another second passing it started ringing again. This went on the three times before Gabby decided to answer it. "Hello?" Silence. "Hello?" There was some shuffling in the background before the line went dead.<p>

Gabby rolled her eyes and sat her phone aside. "Whatever," she mumbled. She'd been waiting for Antonio to call and whoever was calling her was tying up her chances to talk to Eli.

With still a few days until Eli was back home, Gabby cherished the daily phone calls she got with Eli. She missed him so much; his witty banter, his constant questions about anything and everything. She knew Gus missed him, too. Even if he was too young to voice it.

Finally, Antonio's name flashed across her screen and Gabby was answering before the first ring even had a chance to finish. "Hello?"

Antonio chuckled, "well that was quick."

Gabby rolled her eyes. "I miss my baby boy. Hey, did you try calling earlier?"

"No, why?"

"I kept getting this unknown number calling me and after the third time I finally answered; I heard breathing but nothing else."

"Huh. You said it was an unknown number?"

"Yeah." Gabby shrugged, "they haven't called back so maybe they realized I wasn't who they were trying to get a hold of."

"Yeah, maybe." Antonio sighed, "let me know if you keep getting the calls, though, ok?"

Gabby rolled her eyes. "Yeah, ok. Can I talk to my baby boy, now?"

There was some shuffling and finally Gabby heard Eli's voice. "Guess what I did today, mama?"

Gabby secured her phone between her shoulder and chin, leaving both hands free to make dinner. "Hmmm, I don't know. I hope it was something fun." After receiving over a dozen pictures from her father earlier in the day, she had a bit of an idea what Eli was going to say but wasn't going to spoil his excitement.

"It was! Abuelo took me and Diego to go swimming with dolphins!"

"Oh, wow! That's really cool, buddy. Did you have fun?"

"Yep! There were two of them! Their names were Hector and Erasmo! I think Erasmo liked me better than Diego. He kept laughing at me."

Gabby laughed. "I'm glad you're having fun there. Did you do anything else today?"

"Well, we went to the beach but we do that every day." There was a pause followed by a soft sigh, "I miss you, mommy. And I miss Gus even if he's always trying to take my toys."

"I miss you, too, Elijah. And I know Gus misses you too. But just remember, you'll be back in Chicago soon so just make sure you have lots of fun, ok?"

"Ok. Te amo, mommy. I'm gonna give the phone back to Tio."

"Te amo, sweetie." As Gabby moved across the kitchen, she could hear the shuffling of the phone from one person to another. She glanced over her shoulder, making sure Gus was still content with the handful of goldfish she'd sat on his tray.

"Hey, Gabs."

"Hey. Is he really doing ok? He's listening to you?"

"He's doing fine," Antonio reassured his sister. "He misses you guys. We all do."

Gabby took a shaky breath, going so long without seeing Elijah was really getting to her. "I miss him, too."

"And what about me?" Antonio asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Meh, I could go a few more weeks without you," Gabby joked.

"Ouch."

"Kidding."

* * *

><p>Gus smacked his hands against the water and giggled in delight as it splashed everywhere. He wasn't used to having the tub all to himself during bath time. Gabby put one hand on Gus' forehead, blocking the shampoo from sneaking into his eyes and used the other to rinse the shampoo from his hair. He started to squirm, not happy with being constrained.<p>

"I'm almost done," Gabby said to her youngest son.

She dropped the extendable shower head once she was finished and let Gus play in the tub another fifteen minutes before pulling the plug on the drain and letting the water slip down the drain. She smiled at Gus' reaction as he clapped his hands, for some reason his favorite part of bath time was watching the water run away from him and down the drain.

"Come on, Gus." She wrapped the pale yellow towel around his body and scooped him up out of the tub. "It's pajama time."

It was a fight to even get a diaper back on him but once she did, she sat him down on the floor in his bedroom and started to dig through the dresser looking for a clean pair of pajamas. Apparently she needed to do laundry. Again. She settled on a faded Bears tee that used to be Eli's and was about to grab a pair of shorts when she saw Gus start to take off out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh no you don't," she hurried over and stopped him just as he was about to crawl out into the hallway.

"Baba!"

"Jammies first, baby." She faintly heard the knock on her apartment door and sighed. "I guess clothes are gonna have to wait. Come on, let's go see who that is."

Gabby stood on her toes and glanced through the peep-hole, a small smile appeared on her face and she stepped back to open the door. "Hey."

"Hey." Matt held up his tool box, "I'm here to fix your bathroom door."

"Oh, right!" Gabby moved over to let him in, "I completely forgot." She silently berated herself for forgetting he was coming over. She would have attempted to clean the place up a little bit. Not to mention, make herself look a bit more presentable.

Gus grinned when he saw Matt, his legs kicking in excitement. "Hey, buddy! You're not giving your mom too hard of a time, are you?"

"He's making up for Eli's absence." Gabby shut the door and carried Gus over to the couch so she could sit down and put his pajamas on. She suddenly felt nervous and unsure of what to say. They'd exchanged a few text messages over the past few days but hadn't had a major conversation. There biggest conversation being last night when he'd sent her a text asking if her bathroom door still needed to be fixed.

Matt could feel Gabby's anxiety radiating off of her and he was quick to start a conversation. He pointed to the Bears tee that Gus was now wearing. "Bears, huh?"

"Hometown pride."

"I hear that." He sat his toolbox down and took a seat next to Gabby. "Have you ever been to a game?"

"Are you kidding me? Before Antonio became a detective, he worked security for the stadium to make extra money and taking me to the games with him was his way of babysitting. Although, if I'm honest, I usually ended up going off on my own."

Matt raised a brow, "why do I get the feeling you were a bit of a rebel as a child?"

"Ha, I'm not sure rebel is the right word. More like bratty teenager who did whatever she could to annoy her big brother."

Matt laughed, "I'll have to ask Antonio for some stories next time I see him."

"Oh God, please don't. He gets even more annoying when he's telling embarrassing stories about me."

"Ok, ok, I'll try not to ask." Matt grinned, "But if you're interested, I've got a buddy who has season tickets and he usually sells half of them...so maybe we could go to a game?"

Gabby nodded, not breaking eye contact with Matt. "Maybe." She held onto Gus as he stood up in her lap and reached for Matt's face.

Matt grinned, "I'm going to hold you to that maybe." He held his hands out for Gus, "can I?" He knew that it was a big step for Gabby, once again letting him around Gus and he really wanted to tread lightly. He grinned as Gus practically launched himself into Matt's arms, clearly recognizing him. "Hey there, big guy. Do you happen to know anything about tools? I could use an assistant."

* * *

><p>Matt looked up when he heard Gabby come into the living room. "He asleep?"<p>

"Finally." Gabby sat the baby monitor down and joined Matt on the couch. "He has more energy than he knows what to do with it."

"And here I thought it was my presence that got him hyped up," Matt joked.

"He was happy to see you," Gabby admitted. She took the plastic batman cup from Matt's hand and took a sip of the juice. When she'd offered him a drink while getting Gus' bottle ready for bed, she'd completely forgotten the lack of options her refrigerator carried. Especially adult options. She didn't like drinking alone and with her hardly ever having people over, there was no point in carrying alcohol in the house. "Sorry I didn't have anything else to offer."

Matt smirked and took the cup back, "no worries. I like cranberry juice." He finished off the juice and sat the cup down on the coffee table. "And the bright yellow batman cup gives it an extra touch. I'm happy to see Eli prefers D.C. over Marvel," he half joked.

"You don't even know the half of it, for the last three years, Eli has been batman for Halloween. I can't get him to be anything else. My brother even tried to convince him to dress as a cop last year but Eli insisted he wanted to be batman again. He's a very determined kid."

"I can see where he gets his determination from."

Gabby bit back her smile, not wanting to show Matt how much of an effect his words were having on her. She turned her body sideways so she was facing him and tucked her legs beneath her. "Are you trying to sweet talk me back into bed?"

Matt shrugged and reached his hand out to tuck a few stray locks that had slipped from her ponytail back behind her ear. "Is it working?"

Before she could second guess herself, Gabby slid into Matt's lap; the look on his face let her know she'd succeeded in catching him off guard. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed her forehead to his, "maybe." The tips of her fingers danced with the small hairs on the back of Matt's neck. "I mean, I know you start shift an hour earlier than usual tomorrow morning and I wouldn't want you to miss out on getting enough sleep…"

Gabby squealed when Matt suddenly stood up with her in his arms. "That's what coffee is for." He kissed her lips, "Now shh, no squealing. The fun can't start if you wake Gus up."

* * *

><p>Matt finished tying his shoes and stood up, heading back into Gabby's bedroom. He smiled at the sight of her sleeping, he'd never seen her look so relaxed before. But then again, being a single mother to two boys wasn't exactly a stress free job. She was curled up in the center of her bed with a sheet draped casually over her. He took a seat at the edge of her bed and ran his fingers through her tangled hair. "Gabby?"<p>

Gabby stirred and leaned into Matt's touch, "hmm?"

"I hate to wake you up but I've got to get going."

"Don't forget to stop for coffee," she mumbled.

Matt smirked, "even half asleep you've still got your sense of humor." He leaned down and kissed her lips, "I didn't want you to wake up to an empty bed."

The sincerity of Matt's words broke through the sleepy fog that Gabby was fighting against, causing Gabby to finally open her eyes and meet Matt's. She swallowed hard, his words really getting to her. She wasn't used to a guy treating her with so much respect and tenderness. In fact, with her last relationship, she'd convinced herself that respect was something she didn't deserve. She'd told herself she wasn't the girl that guys dreamed about; she was just the girl they took to bed. "Thank you," she finally whispered, dropping her gaze from his.

Matt frowned, he hadn't meant for his words to have such an effect on Gabby. "Hey," placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head so she was looking back up at him. "I didn't mean to make you upset."

"You didn't," Gabby insisted.

"Ok," Matt nodded. He kissed her once more, "I'll talk to you later?"

Gabby nodded, "yeah." She watched as Matt stood up and started to leave. "Matt?"

He turned around, "yeah?"

"Be careful."

He smiled, "I will."


	8. Chapter 8

_Hey guys! I realized after posting the last chapter that I forgot to add an author's note to thank everybody for reviewing! So thank you times two! I wanted to get this out sooner because everybody reviewed so quickly but this holiday season is proving to be a busy one. I'm basically running on empty. I'm an assistant manager for a retail store...so I've been working non-stop. I can't tell you how many times I sat down to write this chapter after work only to fall asleep. lol. Hopefully once the holidays are over, I will have more time to write, that includes Silence in the Dark and the third and final chapter to Change of Plans. I'm going to try to get one more chapter up before Christmas, but if I don't, I hope everybody has a happy Christmas! And if you don't celebrate Christmas, I still wish you happiness! Be blessed! :)_

How Will I Know

Chapter Eight

Having come straight from work and not taking the time to change, Gabby was still in her scrubs when she jogged up the steps to her brother's house and let herself inside.

"Mama!"

"Hey, baby…oh." Elijah jumped into his mother's arms, his entire weight knocking her back and almost causing her to fall. She peppered little kisses all over his face. "I missed you so much." She grinned and pulled back, "ok, let me take a look at you. Two arms, two legs, no missing teeth…I suppose you did make it back in one piece."

Elijah giggled. "Of course I did, mommy!"

"Well I'm just making sure." Gabby kissed Eli's nose before standing back up, "where's your uncle?"

"Coming." Gabby nearly laughed as she watched her brother struggle under a mountain of luggage. He dropped the bags at the foot of the steps, huffing. "I swear, we came back with twice as much luggage than we left with." He stood up straight and pulled his sister into a hug, "I see you survived." He looked around the living room. "Where's Gus?"

"With Shay. I came straight from work." She was startled when Eli wrapped his arms around her leg, "someone missed me." She combed her fingers through his hair, "you ready to go pick your brother up and then go home? Gus has missed you so much."

Eli nodded, "I'm sleepy."

"I can tell." Gabby's phone started to ring and thinking it was Shay, she pulled it from her pocket in a hurry. She rolled her eyes, it was the same unknown number that had been calling her for nearly two weeks now. She silenced the call and returned her phone to her pocket.

Antonio nodded towards Gabby's pocket, "same call?"

"Yeah."

"Want me to look into it?"

Gabby shook her head, "I'm sure it's nothing." Or at least she hoped that was the case. "They'll eventually give up."

* * *

><p>Matt followed Kelly into the living room, surprised to see Shay on the couch with Gus sprawled out in her arms and drinking a bottle. His eyes danced around the room looking for Gabby. "I thought Gabby was working?"<p>

"Calm down, lover boy," Shay quipped. "She is. That's why I've got Gus. Apparently her cousin had an appointment or something, didn't really get the whole story. Gabby was kind of in a frenzy when she called me."

"Oh," Matt replied. Gabby could have called him.

Recognizing Matt's voice, Gus' head popped up from Shay's shoulder, looking for Matt. He saw him right away and grinned, his dimples on full display.

"No turning back now," Kelly joked. "He's spotted you."

"That's because we're buds, aren't we?" Matt ruffled Gus' hair before continuing on and taking the beer Kelly was handing to him. He took a seat in the chair adjacent from the couch and checked his watch. "She should actually be off work now."

Shay smirked, "Keeping tabs on your girlfriend?"

"I'm not keeping tabs on her," Matt defended. He took a swig of his beer, "and I'm not sure she would appreciate you calling her my girlfriend."

"Oh, whatever. You two are dating, therefore she is your girlfriend. How is that going, by the way?"

Matt shrugged, "it's good. I can still see the apprehension, though."

Kelly smirked, raising his beer to his lips. "Apparently not in the bedroom."

Shay gasped, "Kelly! That is none of our business!"

"Says the gossip queen."

Matt chuckled, "Well she's been letting me around Gus but I think it's because he's too young to really understand why I'm around." He sighed, "so now that Eli is back, I'm a little worried she might backtrack."

"Just don't let her," Shay said. "But don't overdo it you, know?" There was a knock on the front door and Shay adjusted Gus in her arms. "That must be her." She stood up and handed Gus to Matt. "Here, hang out with your new best friend."

Shay hurried over to the door and pulled it open. "Hey, guys!" She looked down at Eli, "Elijah! Long time, no see!" She placed her hands on her hips and frowned, "have you gotten taller since the last time I saw you?"

Eli grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

"Well I think you might have. Not to mention, look at that tan!" Shay moved out of the way, letting the two inside.

At the sight of his big brother, Gus squirmed in Matt's arms until he was put down on the floor. He discarded his bottle and crawled over to Eli as fast as his little hands and knees would take him. "Eh!"

"Hi, Gus!" Eli grinned and dropped to the ground. He giggled as Gus tried but failed to crawl on top of him.

Gus lost interest in his brother as soon as he saw the stack of toys he'd been playing with earlier and he crawled away from Eli and over to his toys.

Eli looked up to see Matt sitting on the couch. "Lieutenant Matt!"

Matt smiled, "Hey, buddy. Did you have a good trip?"

"Yep!" Eli pushed himself off the ground and climbed up onto the couch next to Matt. "Is this your house, too?"

Matt shook his head, "nah. Just Shay and Kelly's."

"Well where do you live?"

"Not too far from here."

"Do you live by yourself?"

"Yeah."

Eli frowned, falling into a brief deep thought before looking back up at Matt. "Don't you get lonely? Sometimes I got lonely until Gus was born."

As Gabby listened to Matt and Eli talk, she grabbed a hold of Gus and picked him up just as he was about to crawl out of view. Eli had just started his line of questioning to Matt and she knew he could go on all night if she allowed it. With a toy in one hand and Gus in the other, Gabby walked over to the couch and took a seat on the other side of Eli.

Matt managed to catch Gabby's eyes for a brief second before her eyes shied away from his. He could sense her nervousness from here. He returned his attention to the five year old that was quizzing him. "I'm not home that much. If I'm not working then I'm usually with friends."

"Oh, ok. You should be friends with my mommy. She's really good to me and Gus! And she cooks and cleans. Cousin Hernando said a good girl always knows how to clean and cook." He furrowed his brow in confusion, "he said other stuff too. He said a girl has to be good in bed. Maybe he means that you have to go to sleep when it's your bedtime?"

Gabby's eyes widened in embarrassment at Eli's words. She could feel the slight warmth fill her cheeks as the rest of the adults in the living room looked over at her, their eyes just as wide. Gabby heard an ill-contained laugh come from Severide and she sent him a quick glare before turning her attention back to Eli. She cleared her throat, "Elijah, remember what I said about listening in on other people's conversations?"

"But I didn't mean to. I was eating lunch with Diego and cousin Hernando and cousin Luiz were talking in the kitchen. I promise I wasn't trying to listen."

"Ok, ok, well just don't always listen to what Hernando says, ok?" Gabby couldn't bring herself to look over at Matt, worried that he would think there was a hidden meaning behind her words. She'd tell Eli eventually about her and Matt; she just didn't quite know the best way to bring it up. She wanted this relationship to be different than the ones in her past. She wanted to do right by her boys and she wanted to do right by Matt.

"Ok." Eli leaned into his mother's side and tucked his feet beneath him, glancing over at the television. "Are you guys watching baseball?"

Matt nodded and pulled his eyes away from Gabby and down to Eli. "Yep. Do you like baseball?"

Eli shrugged, "it's alright. I like watching football and mommy sometimes takes me to the gym to play soccer with the other kids."

Gabby brushed Eli's hair from his eyes, making a mental note to take him for another hair cut before the start of school. "We can probably sign you up for sports when you start school."

Gabby still couldn't believe her baby would be starting kindergarten in a little over two weeks.

"I'm gonna go to the same school as Diego, right mama?"

"That's right, baby." She checked her watch, "ok, we should get going so I can fix you and Gus dinner."

"But I wanna stay longer," Eli whined.

Gabby sighed, she could see it in Eli's eyes, he was absolutely exhausted and the only thing keeping him going was the adrenaline rush of being back home and seeing everybody.

"You guys just wanna stay for dinner?" Shay asked. "Pizza should be here soon."

"Can we stay and eat here?" Eli asked his mom. "Please?"

It would get her out of cooking for the night. And as much as she did love cooking, a break was always welcomed. "Sure. We can stay. But just for dinner. Tomorrow I want to take you shopping for school stuff, ok?"

"Ok!"

Twenty minutes later and the pizza arrived. Severide handed the delivery man plenty of cash, including a generous tip and shut the door with his foot. "Pizza's here!"

Shay sat the stack of paper plates and napkins on the coffee table. "Who wants what to drink?"

"Can I please have chocolate milk, Leslie?" Eli asked.

She held her hand out to him, "of course, Mr. Elijah! Let's go see if there is some in the fridge, if not, we'll just have to make it."

Matt waited until Eli and Shay were out of sight before scooting over and filling the spot previously held by Eli. He draped an arm around her and placed a kiss right below her ear. "I've been dying to kiss you since you walked in," he whispered.

Gabby drew her eyes away from Gus and looked over at Matt, smiling almost shyly. "Well you better take your chance before we're interrupted."

"I couldn't agree more."

Gabby was expecting a quick kiss and was surprised when Matt pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. She could feel some of the tension leave her body and allowed herself to relax in his arms. When Matt did finally break the kiss he had a mischievous grin playing on his face.

"Uh oh," Gabby mumbled. "What is that look for?"

Matt shook his head, "I just think it's cute that Eli thinks you and I should be _friends_."

"Matt…"

"I'm just saying, it sounds to me like I've already gotten Eli's approval."

Gabby sighed and closed her eyes for brief moment. She knew Eli liked Matt and she couldn't be more thrilled, but was scared her was the outcome if their relationship didn't work out. She'd let Lance into Eli's life without any sort of hesitation and it had turned into a complete nightmare.

"Gabby," Matt whispered, "please open your eyes." When she did, he was startled to see the tears barely staying at bay. "Hey, what's with the tears?"

"The last time I let a guy into Eli's life, it ended in disaster. I can't do that again, Matt. I…" her voice cracked and she shook her head. "I just can't."

"I know we've briefly talked about your last relationship and I also know there is still a lot I don't know but what I do know is that I'll never, _ever _hurt you or Eli the way the last guy did. I _need _you to believe me, Gabby."

"Mommy! Leslie and me made chocolate milk!" Eli hurried into the living room, his attention was solely on the carrying the glass with both hands so he didn't spill it that he didn't even notice the two adults hurriedly separating on the couch.

Gabby hurriedly wiped at her eyes and put on a smile, "Oh wow, it looks like it is extra chocolatey."

"It is!" He sat the glass down on the coffee table. "Leslie even gave me a silly straw." He gasped when he saw Gus reach for his chocolate milk. "No, Gus! That's mine!"

"No worries!" Shay walked into the living room, holding up Gus' bottle. "I've got a drink for Augustus, too!" She leaned over the coffee table and held the bottle out for Gus. The tot snatched it up in an instant and tilted his head back, drinking as much as he could. Shay raised a brow at turned to Gabby, "I promise, I fed him today."

Gabby laughed as Gus cuddled into her arms, "he's just a growing boy."

It didn't take long for both boxes of pizza to be completely demolished by the four adults and two kids. Eli had tried his best to keep up with Matt and Kelly but barely made it past his second piece of pizza. Gus had a few bites but soon found out he liked the pepperonis the best.

"Mommy," Eli whined, curling back into his mom's side just as the baseball game had come to an end. "I'm sleepy."

To be honest, Gabby was surprised Eli lasted as long as he did. "You ready to go home?"

"Mhm."

"What do you say to Kelly and Leslie?" Gabby asked.

Eli opened his eyes, "thank you for the pizza and letting me stay to watch the baseball game."

Severide grinned, "anytime, bud."

Shay nodded, "yeah, you are welcome here anytime, sweetie."

Gabby patted Eli's back, "ok, Elijah, let's get going."

"Carry me, mama?"

Gabby cringed, she knew as soon as her next words left her mouth, a meltdown would occur. "Baby, I have to carry Gus."

"But I want you to carry me," Eli whined.

Matt cleared his throat, "how about a piggy back ride out to the car, buddy?"

"No." Eli crossed his arms, "I want my mommy."

Gabby stood up, sending an apologetic look Matt's way. "It's passed his bedtime." Normally she didn't give into Eli's tantrums but she knew part of the reason for his meltdown was the fact that he hadn't seen her in almost two weeks. She motioned for Matt to take Gus from her. "Carry Gus for me?"

"Sure." Matt stood up and took Gus in his arms.

"Come on, Elijah." Gabby groaned and hoisted Eli up into her arms.

The five year old draped his arms around his mom's neck and laid his head on her shoulder. "I missed you, mama."

Gabby got both boys settled in their car seats and turned around to look at Matt, "follow us?" She asked.

Matt nodded and pulled his keys from his pocket. "I'll see you in a few."

Both boys were sound asleep when Gabby pulled into the parking spot outside of her apartment. She asked Matt to get Gus and walked around the car to get Eli. Matt gladly helped Gabby get the boys to bed before following her down the hall to her bedroom.

Gabby glanced over her shoulder at Matt as she dug through her dresser, looking for some pajamas. "I'm too exhausted for anything tonight," she confessed. "Sorry."

Matt raised a brow and walked up behind Gabby, slipping his arms around her waist, "that's nothing to apologize for. I don't expect to have sex every time I'm over." Matt couldn't help but be a bit concerned that Gabby seemed to think they had to have sex every night he was over. "I'm perfectly content just having you in my arms."

"Yeah?" Gabby asked.

Matt turned her around in his arms. "Gabby, I like being around you and I like being around your boys. I want to be with you, in a real relationship and I know you're worried about what might happen but…"

"Wanna spend the day with us tomorrow?" Gabby asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

"I'm taking Eli school shopping. I was planning on making it a day out with my boys…that includes you."

"I'd love to."

"Good." Gabby stood on her toes and gave Matt a kiss. "Let's get to bed, I'm exhausted."

* * *

><p>As Matt was slowly pulled form his sleep and became aware of his surroundings, he got the feeling that somebody was staring at him. He opened his eyes, blinking a few times and adjusting to the light. His eyes focused on Eli who was standing in front of him with an unreadable expression on his face.<p>

"Hi." Eli whispered.

Matt cleared the sleep from his throat. "Hi." He propped himself on his elbow and glanced over his shoulder, Gabby was still sound asleep.

"Can you make me breakfast?" Eli asked, once again grabbing Matt's attention.

"I uh…" Matt thought carefully about what he should do before nodding, "Yeah, sure. I'll meet you out in the kitchen in a few minutes?"

Eli nodded. "Ok."

As soon as Eli was out of the room, Matt pushed back the sheets and climbed out of the bed. He sent another glance Gabby's way before grabbing his shirt and jeans and getting dressed. He left the room, shutting the door as quietly as he could. He turned around and nearly ran into Eli who was waiting on him right outside the door, "oh, hey, buddy."

"Gus smells. I think he pooped."

Matt nodded, "right. Ok." He silently followed Eli down the short hallway and into the boys' bedroom. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of Gus. Unlike his mother, he was definitely a morning person. The one year old was standing up in his crib and grinning from ear to ear. "Hey there, Gus." As soon as Matt got close enough, the smell filled his nostrils. "Yeah, I think your brother is right."

After finally getting Gus cleaned up and into a new diaper, Matt got the boys set up in the kitchen; Gus in his high chair and Eli sitting at the table. "What do you want for breakfast?" Matt asked, glancing through the refrigerator.

"Well, it's Saturday and mommy always makes a big breakfast. Bacon, scrambled eggs with extra cheese and chocolate chip pancakes."

"Oh, she does?"

"Yeah. But you can just make me some cereal." Eli pointed to the box of sugary cereal sitting on top of the refrigerator. It was barely noticeable behind a few boxes of healthier cereal, it had obviously been strategically placed by Gabby.

"Are you sure you're allowed to eat that?"

"Only sometimes. Mommy says on the weekends when I don't have school."

"Oh, ok." That sounded reasonably accurate. He took the box down and grabbed a bowl from one of the cabinets. "Any milk?" Matt asked, pouring the cereal.

Eli nodded, "yes, please."

Matt added some milk and sat the bowl of cereal in front of Eli, "what about Gus?"

"He can have some too. But mommy also cuts up bananas for him."

Matt dropped a handful of cereal on Gus' tray and gave him a few pieces of a banana before taking a seat at the table next to Eli. The three ate in silence, Matt was unsure what to say to Eli.

It didn't take long for Eli to finish his cereal; he stood up and carried his empty bowl over to the counter and sat it next to the sink. He turned to look at Matt, "You wanna play a game?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Mario Kart. But I get to be Yoshi."

Matt nodded, "ok."

Eli's laughter danced through the apartment and pulled Gabby from her sleep. She rolled over onto her back, her arms stretching up above her. She glanced at the time and cursed; it was almost ten. Scrambling out of bed and putting her hair up in the process, Gabby grabbed her robe that was hanging on the closet door and wrapped it tightly around her. She heard Eli laugh again and followed the sound out to the living room.

Gabby was surprised by the sight she found in the living room. Matt was sitting on the couch with Gus in his lap and a controller in his hands as she raced against Eli. On the other side of the couch, Eli was standing up, tongue sticking out and moving his own controller around animatedly.

"Morning, boys."

Matt looked up, startled. "Good morning." He tried to read the expression on her face and while he couldn't quite gauge her reaction, she did not look upset.

"I win!" Eli exclaimed, jumping off the couch. He looked up at his mom. "Hi, mommy!"

"Morning, baby." She took a seat where Eli had just been standing and gladly accepted Gus as he crawled into her arms. She kissed Gus' forehead. "Hey, sweetie." She looked up at Matt, smiling, "you boys having fun?"

"A blast!" Eli answered before Matt could say anything.

Matt nodded, "yeah, Eli woke me up asking for breakfast I hope it's ok that we had some cereal..."

Gabby nodded, smiling. "Yeah. I can't tell you the last time I slept in until ten."

"Are we still gonna go school shopping today, mommy?" Eli asked.

"Yep and you know what?"

"What?" Eli asked.

"Matt is going to tag along with us, is that ok?"

Eli nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! Can we stop at the firehouse and see the firetrucks again?"

Matt laughed, "I don't work today, buddy. Maybe if it's ok with your mom, we'll go to the park or something?"

Gabby nodded, "we'll see how the day goes."


	9. Chapter 9

How Will I Know

Chapter Nine

The next two weeks seemed to fly by for Gabby. Despite the craziness that had ensued, she was so happy to have Eli back home with her and Gus. His first week back it was nonstop talk about the Dominican Republic and everything he'd done but eventually he'd changed the topic and started talking about how excited he was to start school.

So knowing her son like she knew she did, Gabby had set her alarm half an hour earlier than usual, giving herself time to get ready before Eli woke up and demanded her full attention.

Hearing her phone ringing, Gabby stepped out of the shower and secured the towel around her body before hurrying from the bathroom and across the hall to her bedroom where she'd left her phone. She got to it just as the ringing stopped and picked it up to see who had called. She huffed in anger, the mysterious daily phone calls were really starting to get to her.

There was never an answer when she let it go to voicemail and the few times she did answer, it was just heavy breathing before the line would eventually go dead. She started to sit her phone down when it beeped, signaling she had a new voicemail. She dialed her voicemail and entered her pin as soon as she was prompted to.

The voicemail was nothing but heavy breathing and just as Gabby was about to end the call, she heard the distorted voice. _"Once a slut, always a slut."_

Her jaw clenched and her hands shook as she sat her phone back down.

"Mommy!" Gabby's head snapped up as Eli ran into her bedroom, still in his pajamas. "It's the first day of school!"

Gabby smiled, she never remembered being this excited for the first day of school. Trying to put the contents of the voicemail out of her mind, Gabby walked over to Elijah. "It sure is, baby. Hurry up and get ready so we can have breakfast at Laura's bakery, ok?"

It had been a tradition with Antonio, Laura and the kids; breakfast at the bakery on the first day of school. Gabby had missed the past couple of years but now that Eli was starting school, Antonio had made it clear that they had to show up.

"Ok!" And just like that Eli was running out of the room.

Gabby sighed and went over to her closet, trying to find something to wear. She couldn't really seem to focus, though, the voicemail was plaguing her thoughts. Her mind filtered through the different people who could possibly have some sort of vendetta against her. The only person that came to mind was Lance but as far as she knew, he was still in prison. She shook her head, berating herself for letting the call take a toll on her.

It was a good day, she reminded herself. It was her son's first day of kindergarten. She'd just pulled her shirt over her head when her phone started to ring, causing her to jump. She shook her head, determined to ignore it.

"Nope," she said out loud to the empty bedroom, "I'm not answering it."

She heard Gus' cries through the baby monitor and quickly slipped into the frayed denim shorts she'd grabbed from her dresser. She grabbed her pajamas and tossed them in her hamper on her way out of her bedroom. As soon as she stepped into the boys' bedroom, Gus' cries ceased and he grinned. "Ma!"

"Hey, sweetie!" She lifted him up out of his crib and perched him on her hip. "You ready to get this day started?" Gus looked up at his mom, still grinning. "Well, that's more than I can say for myself."

It took Gabby no time at all to change Gus out of his pajamas and into a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt. Since he hadn't quite mastered the ability to walk yet, she wasn't even going to waste her time by fighting with him to get his shoes on. She looked over at Eli as he was tying his shoes. It took him a while to finish, but he now knew how to tie his shoes and was extremely proud of himself. Now if she could just convince him to double knot them so he wouldn't have to retie them every five minutes. "You almost ready, baby?"

"Yep! Can you spike my hair like Matt's?"

The day they had went school shopping, Gabby had mentioned Eli needed a haircut and the five year old had quickly asked if he could have it cut short like Matt's and spiked in the front. Gabby obliged and they ended up making a stop at Matt's barber. Every day since then, Gabby's had to help Eli style it so it was just like Matt's.

"Go get your book bag, I'll meet you by the front door."

She went back to her room, slipping on a pair of sandals and grabbing her phone, putting it into her back pocket without even looking at the screen. She didn't want to see if there were more voicemails waiting for her.

Antonio looked up when Gabby and the boys walked into the bakery. "There you guys are!" He walked around the counter and took Gus from Gabby's arms, cooing over the little boy. He turned his attention to his baby sister, giving her a knowing look, "would have been nice for you to answer your phone, huh?"

Gabby frowned and pulled her phone from her back pocket, there were a few missed calls from him and Matt, along with a few more from the unknown number. She feigned confusion, "that's weird, I have no idea why I didn't hear it ringing."

Antonio raised a brow, he knew his sister's mannerisms better than anyone. Her refusal to look him in the eye had tipped him off. "You're still getting those calls, aren't you?"

"I'm sure they'll eventually stop."

"That's what you said last time, Gabs."

Gabby shook her head, her frustrations slowly showing. "I don't know who it could be," she admitted. "And I can't even attempt to find out because it comes up as blocked every single time."

"Oh, wow!" Eli exclaimed, interrupting the sibling's conversation. He watched in awe as the fire truck pulled up in front of the bakery. "It's a fire truck!" He ran over to the window, getting a closer look just as Matt jumped out. "It's Matt!" he said, looking back over at his mom. "Can I go see him?"

"I'm sure he'll be coming in. Right now, you need to eat breakfast."

Matt grinned and gave Eli a quick wave before he turned and said something to the other guys. He shut the door to the fire truck and headed into the bakery, he was quickly met at the door by Eli. "Hey, buddy!"

"Can I go see the truck?" Eli asked.

Gabby cleared her throat, avoiding Matt's gaze and looked over at Eli. "Baby, what did I just say? You need to eat breakfast."

Laura looked over at Matt, "Matt, there's plenty for your guys, too." She caught the guys' attention and waved for them to come inside and join everybody else.

Soon, everybody settled around the tables that had been pushed together, ready to dig into the different assortment of pastries Laura had made fresh for the day. Without a highchair, Gabby had no option but to sit Gus in her lap. Matt started to take a seat next to Gabby when Eli slipped between them. "I wanna sit by both of you guys. Please?"

Matt looked at Gabby who just shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, sure thing, bud. It's your special day." He looked back over at Gabby, once again catching her eyes. He could tell something was bothering her but knew that now was not the time to bring it up. "Any suggestions?"

She pointed to the strawberry pastry, "can't go wrong with homemade pop tarts."

Once breakfast was done and everybody started to get ready to leave, Antonio weaved his way through the guys of Firehouse 51 and went up to Matt. He held his hand out, "Matt, good to see you again."

Matt shook Antonio's hand, "you too, Detective."

"You're dating my sister, please call me Antonio."

"Right, of course." Matt couldn't help but feel nervous. While Antonio was not threatening him, Matt had caught that glint in the detective's eye silently letting him know he would have no problem beating the shit out of him if he ever hurt Gabby or the boys. "How are you?"

"Same old, same old. How's life at 51?"

Matt shrugged, slipping his hands in his pockets. "Can't complain."

Antonio, nodded. "Good, good."

Antonio heard his wife call his name and excused himself, leaving the lieutenant standing by himself in the middle of the bakery. He scanned the place, finding Gabby leaning against the counter staring out the window where Eli was with some of the guys.

He walked over to her, placing his hand on her lower back. "You ok?" Matt asked, sensing Gabby's somber mood.

Gabby looked up at him and nodded, forcing a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…" she shrugged, not really wanting to tell Matt about the mysterious calls and now voicemails. "It's a big day…Eli is starting school."

Matt nodded, not fully believing Gabby. "He's still your baby, though, Gabs."

"I know, I know…" she sighed and turned her attention back to Eli as he talked enthusiastically with Cruz. She couldn't hear what he was saying but if she had to guess, she would say it had to do with driving the fire truck.

* * *

><p>"Is Ross still your partner?" Gabby asked. She secured her phone between her shoulder and face, giving her both hands to pull the clothes from the washer. She grabbed one of Gus' shirts and groaned at the huge stain that was still there. Deciding she'd just use it as a play shirt from now on, she tossed it in the dryer and continued on.<p>

"Unfortunately," Shay answered after taking a drink from the shake she'd picked up on the way back from a cal. "He was supposed to be temporary but apparently my old partner met some guy and long story short, she's not coming back to Chicago."

"Oh."

Shay raised a brow, "does this mean you can't visit your boyfriend?"

"Pretty much."

On the other side of the firehouse, Matt had just finished with his lunch and was headed into his office to finish up some paperwork.

"Hey, Casey!"

Matt stopped and looked up right before entering his office. He could barely keep from rolling his eyes when he saw who had called his name. While he hadn't had much interaction with Ross, he'd heard from Severide what the guy had said about Gabby. "Can I help you with something?"

Ross smirked and stopped just feet away from Matt. "Just wondering if you're still enjoying your time between the sheets with Dawson? If so, it's gotta be some sort of record. That girl is a bed hopper."

Matt narrowed his eyes in anger, he could feel his temper slowly rising. "Excuse me?"

"Girl gets around, I would know."

Matt lunged at Ross, shoving him against the wall. "Listen, buddy, I don't know what you think you know about Gabby but I suggest you shut your mouth!" He pulled Ross back and shoved him against the wall again. "You keep her name out of your mouth!"

"Or what? Gonna beat me up?"

"I just might."

Ross smirked. "She's got you whipped. Are you playing daddy to her bastard kids, too?" He was surprised when he felt Matt drop his hands from him and take a step back and before he could think anything more, Matt's fist collided with Ross' face causing him to stumble backwards.

Shay stopped in her tracks as she watched the confrontation between Matt and Ross. "Oh, shit."

"What?" Gabby asked. "What's going on?"

"Your boyfriend and former…whatever you want to call him, are having a confrontation."

"What? What's happening? What are they saying?"

Before she could answer, Shay was pushed out of the way by Chief Boden and Severide as the two men rushed over to pull Matt off of Ross.

"I couldn't hear. But Chief and Kelly just pulled Matt off of Ross."

Gabby sighed and rested her head back against the wall, closing her eyes for the briefest of moments. "What the hell is his problem?"

"Matt's?" Shay asked, confused.

"No. Ross'. I don't understand why he's even talking to Matt. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with Eli when I was pregnant with him or once he was born. I don't get it. What's his motive?"

Shay shrugged, she could hear the frustration in Gabby's voice. "I don't know, Gabs. But I think maybe you need to talk to Matt about it. I don't think he'd appreciate finding out from someone else that Ross is Eli's dad."

"I just...it'll make things even more complicated. Maybe even make things more real for Matt," she softly admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"The father of one of my kids works in the same firehouse as my boyfriend. Do you know how much drama can ensue? How easy it would be fore Matt to just throw in the towel and go find himself a girl without two kids by two different men?" Gabby shook her head. "This is why I didn't want to start dating Matt in the first place. I knew I would fall for him, I knew the boys would get attached and look what happened, my past comes back to bite me in the ass."

* * *

><p><em>Uh-oh. Already some trouble in paradise? Couldn't have them happy forever. ;) I've got so many ideas for this story. Pretty please leave a review? :) Gonna try to post another update by the end of the weekend. <em>


	10. Chapter 10

How Will I Know

Chapter Ten:

"Elijah!" Gabby yelled from the kitchen as she struggled against Gus' refusal to get his face cleaned. He'd been fighting with her for the past fifteen minutes, shaking his head in refusal each time she had attempted to slip the spoonful of oatmeal in his mouth. So instead of landing in his mouth, the gooey substance had landed all over his face.

"What?" He yelled back.

"You need to finish getting ready!" Once Gus was clean enough, Gabby tossed the paper towel in the trash can by the counter and removed the tray from Gus' highchair. She returned his dimpled grin, "you know you're too ornery for your own good, right?"

"Ma!"

"Yes, I'm mommy." She removed Gus from his highchair and checked her watch. "Elijah Antonio-Nicolas! You're going to be late for school!"

It had been a horrible morning. From the minute she'd woken up late and realizing her alarm never went off, Gabby had been in a frenzied state of mind. She didn't have to work, but she still wanted to make sure Eli made it to school on time.

"I'm coming!" He ran down the hall and grabbed his book bag, shouldering it. "I couldn't find my shoes."

"Maybe next time you'll put them away like I asked you to." She grabbed her purse on the way to the door, "let's go." She opened the door and was surprised to see Matt standing on the other side of it. From the look on his face, he was just as startled by the door opening so suddenly.

"Matt!" Eli exclaimed.

"Hey, bud." Matt greeted the five year old before he turned his attention to Gabby and held up the cups of coffee. "I just got off shift."

Gabby nodded, pushing her loose hair from her face. "Well we're just heading out. Elijah was running behind this morning."

Eli huffed not happy that his mother had to tell Matt that it was his fault they were running behind. "I'll put my shoes away next time, mama."

"Good." Gabby ushered Eli out of the apartment, following closely behind him. She shut the door behind her making sure it was locked. "Let's go." Despite herself, Gabby took the cup of coffee from Matt and eagerly took a sip. "Thanks. Tagging along?"

"If you don't mind."

"Nope."

The four of them headed down the stairs and out to Gabby's car. Matt could feel the slight distance Gabby was putting between them and decided he'd wait until they'd dropped Gus off at school to ask her about it.

With neither of their shifts matching up, they hadn't seen each other since Eli's first day of school which was almost a week ago. They'd talked on the phone and exchanged several text messages but even without seeing her face to face, Matt could tell there was something bothering Gabby. He just hoped it had nothing to do with him.

When Severide had first mentioned the comments Ross had made about Gabby, Matt did his best to shrug them off and put them to the back of his mind. But he'd also done his best to avoid Ross at work, afraid that he would either hit him or ask him how exactly he knew Gabby. Or maybe both.

He'd thought about asking Gabby how she knew Ross but with their relationship still in the beginning stages, he didn't want to scare her off by coming off as being too prying. He knew there was still a lot she was holding in and he'd reminded himself that in time she would open up to him more.

Besides Gus' incoherent babbling, the short drive to Eli's school was made in silence. Gabby pulled up to the curb in front of the elementary school and shifted the car into park. She looked over at Matt, "can you stay here with Gus while I take Eli up to the door?"

Matt nodded, "yeah, sure."

"Thanks." Gabby glanced into the rear-view mirror as she undid her seat belt, "do you have everything, baby?"

"Yes, mama," Eli mumbled, removing his own seat belt.

Gabby hurried around the other side of the car just as Eli was jumping out of the back seat. He shut the door and took his mom's outreached hand.

They moved quickly up the paved walkway. "Is Matt gonna be with you when you pick me up today, mama?"

"I don't know, baby. He worked all night, he might want to go home and sleep."

"Well can he come over for dinner?"

"We'll see."

Eli huffed, stomping his foot. "It's not fair! Only you and Gus get to see Matt! I have to go to school whenever he visits!"

Gabby stopped at the bottom of the steps and dropped Eli's hand, a little taken aback by Eli's complaint. She hadn't realized how much Eli had missed hanging around Matt, too. She framed his little face in her hands and kissed the top of his head. "I'll ask him as soon as I get back to the car if he wants to come over for dinner, ok? But in the meantime, I want you to have a good day at school, ok? I love you."

Eli nodded enthusiastically, satisfied with his mother's answer. "Ok! Te amo!" He jogged up the steps, stopping when he made it to the top and turned around, giving his mother one last wave before hurrying into the building.

When Gabby got back to her car, she started to turn her head to look over at Matt and was completely taken by surprise when his lips captured hers. She was quick to recover and leaned into him, sliding her hand to the back of his neck, deepening the kiss.

They briefly fought for dominance, not seeing each in week finally catching up to the both of them.

Gabby opened her eyes when she felt Matt's lips leave hers. A small smile played on her lips. "What was that for?"

Matt shrugged, grinning, "I missed you."

"I missed you, too." She quickly pecked his lips before sitting back in her seat and biting her bottom lip nervously. "You showing up at my door this morning was a nice surprise."

"Yeah? I couldn't tell. I think you were more excited to see the coffee in my hand than you were to see me," Matt joked.

Gabby rolled her eyes. "Well it's been a bit of a rough morning, hasn't it, Gus?" She turned and looked behind her, a little concerned to see Gus was sound asleep. She frowned, "I really hope he's not coming down with something. He wouldn't eat breakfast." She reached back and touched side of his face, checking for a fever. "He's not warm."

"Maybe he's just tired," Matt suggested. He could see the worry in Gabby's eyes and wanted to ease her concerns.

"Maybe. But he slept through the entire night." Gabby sent one last look in her youngest son's direction before turning around and settling back in her seat. She secured her seat belt and looked for Matt to do the same. "Seat belt, Matt."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

The drive was once again made without conversation and with Gus asleep, an awkward silence had fallen between the two. Gabby could feel Matt's eyes on her every now and then but she refused to look his way, afraid his gaze would take a hold of hers and not let it go. She pulled into the first parking lot she saw closest to her apartment and killed the engine.

Gabby cleared her throat, "So…I've been told to ask you if you'd like to come over for dinner tonight. Eli is feeling a little jealous that only Gus and I get to see you."

"Depends. Do you want me over for dinner?

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

Matt shrugged. "You haven't really had much to say this past week."

"I've been busy," Gabby defended. "And besides, the phone works both ways." She rested her head against the back of her seat and briefly closed her eyes. "I don't want to argue, Matt."

"I'm not trying to argue with you," he insisted. He motioned towards her apartment, "can I come in with you guys?"

Gabby nodded, "Yeah."

Once they got inside the apartment, Gabby managed to change Gus' diaper without waking him up. Again, she checked for any sign of a fever before putting him down in his playpen. Matt walked up behind Gabby and held her waist. "Is he ok?" He whispered into her ear.

"He doesn't have a fever so that's a good sign. It's just not like him to fall asleep this early in the morning. Especially since I know he slept well last night," she frowned. "I think he might be coming down with something."

"Let's hope not," Matt mumbled.

Gabby sighed, "I know."

"Did you get a chance to eat breakfast?"

"No. It was a rough morning. My alarm didn't go off, I barely had breakfast ready for the boys."

"You want me to make you something?" Matt asked. "I'm not the best but Eli seemed pretty pleased with the cereal I poured him when he asked me for breakfast." Matt grinned when he earned a laugh from Gabby.

"I hate to be the one to break it to you but cooking and pouring cereal isn't quite the same thing." She turned around and draped her arms around his neck. "I'm not really that hungry, but thanks for the offer."

Matt nodded, kissing her. "One of these days, I'll convince you to let me cook. I promise I'm not as bad as what the guys at 51 seem to think. Speaking of which…." Matt caught himself by surprise when he stumbled into the perfect transition of conversation to find out if his fight with Ross has anything to do with her being distant. "The guys have been asking about you."

Gabby dropped her eyes from Matt's, "oh yeah?" She moved out of Matt's grasp and started busying herself by cleaning up toys around the living room.

"Yep. You and the boys should visit again soon. Maybe dinner on Friday?"

"As long as I don't have to cook the dinner," she joked.

"Damnit," Matt feigned frustration. "You caught on to my plan," he joked. "But really, I've missed your visits. I think we're due for some alone time in my office."

Gabby smiled, "maybe." She did miss seeing her old coworkers but as long as Ross was working for 51, she would not be making any appearances. The thing she feared most was Ross airing her dirty laundry out in front of the entire house, more specifically, in front of Matt. Shay had been on her case for the past week to just tell Matt the truth about her history with Ross, claiming the lieutenant already knew there was some sort of past but just didn't know how to ask about it.

Gabby was afraid if Matt knew the exact details of her past with Ross that he would drop her. It was one thing to date a woman with two kids, but it was another to have to work with the father of one of her kids. Especially when the guy was an egotistical asshole who had no problem making the lives of the people around him miserable.

"Gabby?" Matt waved his hand in front of Gabby's face, finally managing to pull her attention back to him. "Hey, where'd you go?"

"Just thinking."

"Anything you care to talk about?" Matt asked. "Maybe…maybe why you're avoiding the firehouse?"

"I'm not avoiding the firehouse," Gabby lied. She pulled the basket from underneath the coffee table that she used to store some of the boys' toys in and unloaded an armful into it. "Like I said, I've just been busy."

"Gabby, for once, just talk to me."

Gabby's shoulders fell along with her resolve and she moved to take a seat next to Matt. She looked up at him, eventually meeting his eyes. "I don't know where to start." The mysterious calls. Running into Bobby Ross. Even work was starting to stress her out, and it used to be the one place she could go and not worry about her problems.

"Anywhere is fine."

"I heard you had a run-in with Bobby Ross last week?" Matt nodded, silently asking for her to continue. "Despite what he's probably told you, I never actually _dated _him. We went to school together and had a sort of…friends with benefits minus the actual being friends part for the better part of a year."

Matt nodded, "I kind of figured something like that took place."

"I didn't even know he was working at 51 until I took the boys to see you right before Eli went to the Dominican and then last week Shay told me he had become her permanent partner."

"Hence the reason you've been avoiding the firehouse?"

"Pretty much," Gabby admitted.

Matt shook his head, "why didn't you just tell me?"

"I try to keep my past in the past so when I ran into Ross it kind of caught me off guard," she shrugged, not knowing what else to say. "He isn't a part of my life now." _Or Eli's._

"There's something else, isn't there?" Matt asked, leery of what can of worms he was nudging.

Gabby sighed and stood up from the couch, she crossed her arms and started pacing the small confines of her living room. She stopped and glanced down in the playpen at Gus who was still sleeping in the exact position she had laid him down in. "It shouldn't matter," she mumbled, returning to pacing back and forth.

"Then just tell me," Matt pleaded. "What did he do?"

Gabby stopped and looked over at Matt, "he dropped me from existence as soon as I told him I was pregnant."

"Oh." Matt had not been expecting that. Thinking back on it, he should have put it together. But for some reason, it hadn't even crossed his mind that Ross could be the father of one of Gabby's kids. He shook his head, disrupting the tangled weave of thoughts that were forming in his head. He ran his hands through his short locks, unsure of what to say. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Why? He has nothing to do with Eli. Never has and never will," her words sounded bitterer than she had intended. Although she knew Eli was better off without Ross in his life, it still didn't keep the ache in her heart from hurting as she thought back to the struggles of going through the pregnancy completely alone. It wasn't until her fifth month did Antonio even find out she was pregnant. It was only after she'd passed out at work and he'd been called due to being her emergency contact.

"Yeah, but I have to work with the guy. It would have been nice to know."

"Well in that case, it would have been nice to know about Hallie."

Matt narrowed his eyes, "what do you mean? What about her?" He hadn't seen, let alone talked to Hallie in months and he had absolutely no interest in starting.

"Your ex-fiancée happens to work at the same hospital as me. Something I'm sure you already knew."

"Yeah, but…."

"But I work with her, Matt. I went a few good weeks with her throwing nasty glares my way before Shay told me who she was! So if you're going to sit here and get mad at me for not telling you about Ross then you better make sure you don't come off as a hypocrite!"

Before Matt could get out a response, Gus woke up crying. Gabby hurried over to the playpen and picked Gus up, frowning in concern. "Hey, hey, mommy's here." She held his head to the side of her face and started to rock him gently. She kissed his forehead, "I didn't mean to wake you."

Gus' cries faded but he continued to let out a small whimper every now and then. She looked over her shoulder at Matt, "can you get him a bottle?"

"Yeah. What should I put in it?"

"Milk. I want to see if he drinks it."

She wasn't sure if it was because he had just woken up, but Gus felt a little warmer than before. She adjusted him so he was laying in her arms, his head resting against the inside of her elbow. She watched him tug on his right ear and for the first time noticed how red it was. "Is that what's bothering you, baby?" She touched his ear but immediately pulled her hand away when he started to cry again. "Ok, ok, I won't touch it."

"Is he ok?" Matt asked in concern as he returned to the living room and handed Gabby the bottle.

She shook her head, "I think he might have an ear infection."

Their previous conversation was pushed aside as both focused their attention and concern on Gus.

Several hours later, Gabby came back from putting the boys to bed and plopped down on the couch, cuddling into Matt's side. She draped her arm across him and slipped her hand into his.

"Finally got Gus to fall asleep?"

"Yeah," Gabby sighed and briefly closed her eyes. "I wish I could be sick for him. I hate seeing him so miserable." She lifted her head up off of his chest and looked at him, "you're off tomorrow, right?"

Matt nodded. "Yep. 24 hours on, 48 off."

"So you can stay tonight, then?"

"Actually," Matt reluctantly started, "I can't."

"What? Why?" Gabby pushed herself off of Matt and into a sitting position. "You just said you didn't have to work tomorrow. Is this because of earlier? Because of Ross?" She scoffed and stood up, adding more distance between the two of them. "I can't believe it. I knew this was going to happen."

"Gabby!"

"You've stayed over how many nights and now that I've finally talked to you like you've been asking me to, you can't even stay? Typical." She grabbed his shoes from the floor and shoved them into his chest, "if that's how it's going to be, you can just leave now."

"Gabby!" Matt dropped his shoes and grabbed her arms, "stop! It has nothing to do with what we talked about earlier. I have a construction job in Aurora that I need to get an early start on." He sighed, relieved that he had finally gotten her attention. "You told me about Ross hours ago and I'm still here, aren't I? I picked Eli up from school so you could take Gus to the doctor, does that really sound like someone who is planning on running away from you?"

Gabby shook her head, the tears slightly blurring her vision. "No, I guess not."

"You guess not?" Matt repeated, giving her a knowing look. "How about you _know _not, huh?"

Gabby nodded and dropped her head so she could wipe away her tears. She was embarrassed by her outburst and couldn't bring herself to look at Matt. Everything around her seemed to be crumbling slowly, one little piece at a time and she needed some sort of hope to hold onto. Yes, she knew it was selfish of her to look to Matt for comfort when she had two beautiful boys that filled her heart with so much love and happiness but every once in a while she needed to be reassured by someone else.

And for her, that someone else had become Matt. She was far from admitting it out loud, though.

She sniffled a few times but kept her gaze down, "sorry for over-reacting and getting defensive."

Matt shook his head and placed his finger under her chin, tilting her head up so she was looking at him. "Just trust me a little bit more, ok?"

"Ok."

"And for the record, I like seeing you all passionate and defensive. It's hot."

Gabby raised a brow, "oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah."

Gabby nudged Matt's chest just enough so the back of his legs ran into the couch, causing him to lose his stance and fall into the cushions. He grinned when she crawled into his lap and straddled him. Wrapping her arms around his neck she bit her bottom lip seductively. "So…what you're saying is you like it when I get angry?"

Matt tilted his head in thought, "kind of. I like the _passion _you have when you're angry. I don't want you to actually be angry at me." He felt Gabby tighten her legs around his waist and lean her body farther into his lap. "Gabby," he groaned, letting his head fall back against the couch. "No teasing."

Gabby feigned innocence. "Teasing? Why would I ever do such a thing?"

"You're killing me," Matt mumbled, capturing her lips with his. He slipped his hand up her shirt, silently rejoicing in the fact that she'd already taken her bra off for the day, leaving one less article of clothing in his way.

Gabby shook her head. "Uh-uh." She pulled back enough to speak, "bedroom." She crawled off of him and stood up, grabbing his hand and tugging on it. "Come on."

Matt obliged and followed Gabby down the hall, he couldn't help but admire her backside, her sweatpants hugging her curves in all the right places. Without giving it a second's thought, he reached out and gave her butt a light smack. Gabby stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Matt, her mouth open in surprise. He grinned, satisfied with the blush that had crept into her cheeks and shrugged, "what? You've got a cute ass."

It wasn't that far into their relationship that Matt had realized that Gabby would only have sex with him in the dark; but it wasn't something he'd voiced to her, afraid she would push him away. Instead, he'd made a silent promise to her to make her feel so beautiful and comfortable in her own body that she didn't feel the need to hide underneath the blanket of darkness.

It had ended up being a sleepless night for Gabby and it wasn't for fun, either. As soon as Matt had left a little bit after eleven, Gus had woken up crying. It was too soon to give him more pain reliever so she'd settled the two of them on the couch, preparing for a long night. Of course, she would have been more comfortable in her bed and even though Gus was old enough to move around on his own, she'd seen too many cases of babies being rushed to the E.R. due to co-sleeping going terribly wrong and she didn't want to take the chance. Not to mention Gus was still a baby, he could still accidentally roll out of the bed.

As if spending her night caring for her sick baby hadn't been hard enough, her phone had been ringing off the hook so much that she'd had to put it on silent. Every hour, on the hour, it was ringing. The screen flashing the same thing each time. _Blocked Number. _She'd been so preoccupied that she'd actually forgotten about the calls. That was, until one o' clock in the morning when they'd started up again.

With a sleeping Gus in her arms, Gabby waited nervously in the lobby of the police station.

"Gabby?"

Gabby's head snapped up as she watched her brother jog down the steps and stop right in front of her. The look of concern he was giving her made her feel even worse. "The calls won't stop," she whispered. She was silently pleading with him to fix it. "There are voicemails," she shook her head, "I don't know who it is, the voice is distorted but Antonio…I need it to stop. The messages...I just can't."

Antonio nodded, "ok, ok." He very rarely saw his sister this worked up about something. "I'll see what I can do." He could tell she was holding back from saying something else. "What is it?"

"Lance is still in prison, right?"

"Gabby, I told you before and I'll tell you again, Lance will not be getting out of prison for quite some time. So don't even think that, ok? Don't let whoever this caller is make you go backwards, ok?"

Gabby nodded, "ok."

Still asleep, Gus shifted in his mother's arms. He turned his head away from his mother and Antonio frowned. "He doesn't look too good."

"He has an ear infection," Gabby explained. "I had to call off work because our wonderful cousin said she didn't want to deal with a sick baby. I'm already on thin ice with the head nurse so she wasn't too pleased with me."

"Yeah, well, that old bag has a lonely life and doesn't understand what it means to be a parent. Let alone, a single parent."

"But she does understand how to fire me," Gabby muttered. "I just hope it doesn't get that far." She took a breath and shook her head, looking back up at Antonio. "Laura mentioned last week that I could host Gus' birthday party at your guys' place. Is that still ok?"

"Yeah! Of course!" Antonio watched as Gus started to stir and he ran his hand over the back of Gus' head. "Can't believe this kid is going to be a year old next week."

Gabby smiled sadly, her mind drifting back to Gus' premature birth and the difficult delivery that had taken place. "I don't know what I would do if he hadn't made it."

Antonio shook his head. "But he did make it. So don't even think like that."

* * *

><p>I actually did it! I posted by the end of the weekend (my time, anyways. Technically have about an hour to spare. lol.) You guys allll wrote such lovely reviews! I'm really happy you guys are liking this story. I know Silence in the Dark has kinda been put on the back burner but I promise I will get to it. This is my longest chapter yet, it kind of got away from me a bit. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy and if you do, send me some love! :)<p>

P.S. I haven't gotten a chance to respond individually to reviews, but I think some of you are catching on to who the unknown caller might be. Maybe. ;)


	11. Chapter 11

How Will I Know

Chapter Eleven

"Mama?" Eli asked as he followed his mother into the kitchen, carrying his dirty plate in one hand and empty glass in the other.

"What, baby?" Gabby sat down the handful of dirty dishes she had and took Eli's from his hands.

"Is Matt your _boyfriend_?"

Gabby nearly dropped the dishes in the sink. She took a quick second to recompose herself and sat the dishes down before turning around so she could see Eli. She cleared her throat, "why do you ask?"

Eli shrugged. "Well yesterday Eva said she had a boyfriend and I asked what a boyfriend was. She said it's a friend who is a boy that really, really likes you and does nice things for you. I know Matt really, really likes you and he's always doing nice things for you. So is he your boyfriend?"

"Come on." Gabby sighed and led Eli back out of the kitchen and into the living room. She sat down on the couch and motioned for him to do the same. The five year old obliged and looked up at his mom with wide wondrous eyes. "I guess, if you put it like that, than yes…Matt is my boyfriend. Is that ok with you?"

Eli nodded enthusiastically, "yeah! He's nice to you and to me. He even plays video games with me." He frowned and briefly fell into deep thought before looking back up at his mom and adding, "He's not like Lance."

Gabby shook her head. She would never forgive herself for allowing her 'relationship' to last with Lance as long as it did. The only good thing that came out of that mistake was Gus. "No, he's nothing like Lance." She ran combed her fingers through Eli's hair and watched him intently. "Any other questions, sweetie?"

"Is Matt gonna come over tonight?"

"Yeah but it'll be real late so you'll probably already be sleeping."

"Can I stay up and wait for him?"

Gabby shook her head, "no. Tomorrow is Gus' birthday party and it's going to be a long day so I want you to get all the sleep you can, ok? You'll see Matt in the morning."

Eli sighed, not pleased with his mother's answer but knew better than to argue. "Ok."

"Now go get your jammies on and we'll watch a movie before it's time to go to bed."

"Can I choose which one?"

"Absolutely! You get ready and find a movie and I'll get the ice-cream."

Eli grinned and jumped up, "ok! I'll be quick!"

Still recovering from his ear infection, Gus had fallen asleep halfway during dinner and instead of trying to keep him awake, Gabby cleaned him up and put him to bed. Leaving just her and Eli to finish dinner and Gabby could tell that her eldest was enjoying having his mother's complete attention.

* * *

><p>Hearing his baby brother mumbling away, Eli rolled over and looked across the room to where Gus was. He sat up. "Hey guess what, bubby? Today is your birthday. Well, not really your birthday…that was the other day, but today is your birthday party and that's when you get presents! Stuff like toys and sometimes clothes. It's kinda like Christmas only you're the only one who gets presents."<p>

Even though he had no idea what Eli was saying, Gus still hung on to ever word that came out of his brother's mouth. With wide eyes, he smacked the side of his crib, "Eh!"

Eli rolled his eyes, "it's _Eli_, not _Eh. _I wonder if Matt got you presents? He wasn't mommy's boyfriend when it was my birthday but that's ok. Maybe he'll get you some trucks so you stop taking mine."

"Tuck!" Gus waived his hand towards the monster truck poster above Eli's bed.

Eli looked up at the poster. "I'm gonna ask mommy if I can have a fire truck poster, if she says yes then maybe she will hang that one next to your bed." He looked up when he heard the bedroom door open, "morning, mama."

Gabby raised a brow, surprised to see both boys awake. "Morning. What are you doing up so early?"

Eli shrugged, "Gus was talking." He grinned when he saw Matt trying to trying to sneak out of the bathroom without being noticed. "Matt! You're here!"

Matt smiled and quickly adjusted his shirt, "hey, buddy. What are you doing up so early?"

Eli shook his head, "mommy asked me that already. Are you going to have breakfast with us and go to Gus' birthday party? Do you think we can play some video games before we go? Are you going to stay with us all day? When can we go back to the firehouse?"

Matt laughed as Eli continued to ramble on. "Slow down there, Eli. I can't keep up with all the questions."

Gabby smirked at how flustered Matt was getting. "Yes, he's going to have breakfast with us and yes he's going to Gus' birthday party. Maybe you can play video games, if we've got time. I don't know if he's staying with us all day and I don't know when we'll be going back to the firehouse." She ushered him back into his room. "Now, go get dressed. And no jeans with holes in the knees."

* * *

><p>They'd just finished singing 'happy birthday' to Gus when Gabby sat the cake down in front of him. The one year old grinned, his birthday hat halfway falling off of his head. He wasn't sure what was going on but the minute the cake was placed in front of him he didn't really seem to mind being the center of attention.<p>

He reached out and attacked the cake with his hands. "Gus, no. Gus…" Gabby pulled the cake out of his reach. "And there goes one of Mickey's ears." She glanced over her shoulder at her sister-in-law, "might as well go ahead and start cutting."

Laura nodded, "sounds good to me."

Eli climbed into the chair next to Gus, "can I have a piece with red on it?"

Gabby looked over at Eli and nodded. "Yeah, I'll have Aunt Laura make sure the piece she gives you has red icing on it." She knew her son was well-behaved for the most part but she was surprised at how well he had taken to letting Gus be the center of everyone's attention for the day. Usually, when he felt like Gus was getting the majority of the adults' attention, he would start acting up until they noticed him.

Once the cake was handed out, soon people started taking a seat wherever they could find one and separated into their own conversations.

Gabby grimaced as Gus rubbed the chocolate cake all through his dark curls. "You do know the cake is to eat, right buddy? You try to eat everything that isn't edible and then the one thing that is, you just mess with it." She gathered a small bite onto the plastic fork and tried to feed it to him.

He shook his head, refusing the forkful of cake and instead grabbed the cake off the fork with his chubby fingers and shoved it into his mouth. Gabby shrugged, "that's one way."

Matt grinned as he walked up to Gabby and Gus. "Seems like the cake is a hit with everyone."

Gabby nodded, "Laura never fails." She quickly used the fork and swiped a piece from Matt's plate.

"Hey," Matt pouted, "that was mine."

Gabby grinned, quickly taking another bite. "Was that your piece, too?"

Matt shook his head, faking disgust. "Never thought I'd see you steal birthday cake."

"It's not like it's _your _birthday."

"You'd probably steal that cake, too."

Gabby was about to respond when she felt her phone buzz in her back pocket. Her smile faltered briefly as the prank calls came to her mind. Antonio still hadn't figured out who it was. She pulled her phone from her pocket and tried not to show emotion when she saw it was once again the blocked caller. She hit ignore and put the phone back in her pocket.

"Who was that?" Matt asked.

"I don't know. Didn't recognize the number."

Matt nodded, not really believing her but knowing a birthday party full of kids and nosy adults was not the place to call her out on it. "Ok." He looked up and saw Antonio approaching. "Hey, Antonio."

Antonio nodded, "hey, Matt. Mind if I borrow my sister for a second?"

"Not at all. I'll go clean Gus up so he's not a mess when it's time to open his presents."

"Thanks," Gabby whispered as Matt picked Gus up out of his highchair.

"No problem."

Antonio waited until Matt was out of earshot before turning back to his sister. "Was that another call you got a few minutes ago?"

"You saw that?"

"Have you told Matt?"

Gabby huffed, "why do you always answer a question with a question?"

"You do the exact same thing, Gabs." Antonio sighed, "you should probably tell him."

"I don't need relationship advice."

"Believe me, I stopped giving you relationship advice a long time ago."

Gabby glared at her brother, "I want the calls to stop, Antonio. Please."

"I know you do. But every time we manage to trace something it goes back to a dump phone."

"A what?"

"You know, when you buy a disposable phone, put a few minutes on it and then throw it away?"

"Oh," Gabby crossed her arms. "Well what am I supposed to do now?"

"Change your number?"

She shook her head, "no. I won't let him win."

Antonio nodded, already knowing that would be her answer. He sighed and placed his hands on his hips thoughtfully, "voice analysis is our last option, Gabby."

"I don't want people hearing what the voicemails say."

"It's our last option. I'll keep it between just me and the tech guy from my unit, ok? Can you stop by the station sometime this week and my guy can clean up the distorted voice?"

Gabby could see Matt heading back their way with a partially cleaned up Gus. "Yeah, yeah, that's fine." She smiled when Gus reached his arms out for her and gladly accepted him. "Hey sweetie, did you let Matt clean you up?" She ran her fingers through his cake free curls.

"Kinda," Matt said, glancing between the siblings and feeling the slight tension. "He tried to fight me a bit. He's a strong little guy."

"That he is," Gabby said, kissing her son's cheek.

* * *

><p>They'd just finished putting the boys to bed when Matt plopped down on the couch and threw his head back. "Today was exhausting. I don't know how you do this every day."<p>

"Well, to be fair, not every day is a birthday party."

"But still…" Matt lifted his head up and looked across the room at her. "You're a pretty awesome mom."

Gabby smiled, "Thanks and uh…thanks for coming today and _staying_. You really had no obligations to stay but you did."

"I have an obligation to you which means I have an obligation to your boys," he shrugged. "It was nothing."

"It was everything," Gabby insisted, walking over and taking a seat next to him. "Half of my family was there. Although, my parents weren't, so we dodged a bullet there."

Matt frowned, "I thought you got along with your parents? Or at least that's how your brother makes it sound."

"That's because Antonio does get along with them. He's the perfect child. Me, on the other hand, I'm the rebellious screw up who has tainted the family name."

"How?"

Gabby propped her head up on her hand and narrowed her eyes, "you're kidding, right? According to my mother, my life choices are one sin after another. One child out of wedlock and then another…" Gabby shook her head, "Whenever I talk to her she always manages to bring up something I've done wrong or something that _didn't _happen because I got pregnant. The entire time I was growing up, she was dead set on me following in her footsteps and becoming a doctor."

"Gabby…"

She shook her head and continued, "The first time, my parents eventually got over it, the second time, they got pissed all over again. Especially my mom. Looking back on it, the minute she found out I was pregnant the first time, it was basically the beginning of the end of my relationship with her." She sighed, "eventually, she came around to the idea of having another grandchild but as soon as she found out about my pregnancy with Gus…well, it's always 'Gabriela this and Gabriela that…if only you would understand, Gabriela.' I think she thought that I'd eventually make it back to school but with another baby, she realized it wasn't going to happen."

"I don't understand, from what Eli has said about his trip to the Dominican, he had a great time with your parents."

"My parents love the boys, I know that. They just don't appreciate how they came about and I'm the one to blame for that."

"So your mom takes it out on you?"

"It's more like, we don't really have actual conversations about stuff."

Matt could see the sadness in Gabby's eyes, "I'm sorry, Gabby."

Gabby shrugged, "it is what it is." She poked his stomach, needing to change the subject. "What about you? I hardly know anything about your parents. Besides the fact that your mom lives in a nursing home outside the city."

Matt shrugged, "that's all there is to know. My father died when I was young and my mother has never really gotten over it."

"Matt…"

He shook his head, "Gabby, it happened when I was a little boy…that was a long time ago. I'm ok. I just, I guess I feel a sense of duty to be a positive male role model in both Gus and Eli's life because I never really had one. My mother kind of shut down after my father's death and my sister and I were left to take care of ourselves. Once I turned eighteen, Christie and I found a place for our mom to move into where she could get the care she needed."

"I'm sorry," Gabby whispered. "Here I am complaining about my perfectly healthy mother while yours is…"

Matt cut her off, "hey, that's not why I told you. I know I've mentioned before that my mother was in a nursing home but I never went on to explain why." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.

Gabby smiled and rested her arms around his neck. "I…" she was interrupted by the ringing of her phone. She groaned and closed her eyes, resting her forehead against Matt's. "I don't want to answer it."

Matt smirked and grabbed her phone from the coffee table. He frowned when he looked at the screen, "it's a blocked number."

Gabby's eyes widened and she sat up, "don't answer it." She took the phone from Matt's hand and stopped the ringing.

"What…" he stopped, hearing the beep that signaled a new voice mail. He frowned when Gabby continued to sit the phone back down. "Well aren't you going to listen to it?"

"It's not important."

"How do you know?"

"I just do," she insisted.

"Gabby, that's the second time today I've seen you ignore an incoming call. What is going on?"

"It's nothing."

"It's something," Matt countered. "And today wasn't the first time I've seen a look of fear flash across your face when your phone has started to ring."

Gabby sighed, "I've just been getting some prank calls, it's really not a big deal."

"How long have you been getting them?"

"About a month," Gabby replied, not meeting Matt's eyes.

"A month?" Matt exclaimed. He narrowed his eyes, "why didn't you tell me?"

Gabby shrugged and slipped out of Matt's arms, she settled into the other side of the couch, distancing herself from him. "I thought they would stop on their own."

"Well apparently they didn't," he said sarcastically.

"Yeah, I noticed," Gabby snapped at him. "I'm going to bed. Like you said, it's been an exhausting day." She grabbed her phone from the coffee table and stood up, glancing over at him. "Are you leaving or staying?"

"Staying," he answered, not missing a beat.

"Ok."

Matt sighed and decided to give Gabby a few minutes before following her to her bedroom. He wished she would open up to him on a constant basis, not just when he had to force her feelings out of her. He didn't want things to constantly be going back and forth between the two of them.

Eventually, Matt stood up and made a quick stop in the bathroom before opening the door to Gabby's room and finding the lights already off. He kicked off his jeans, pulled his shirt off and blindly made his way to his side of the bed. He slipped under the covers and as soon as he did, Gabby rolled over and cuddled into his side.

"I thought maybe you had decided to leave," she whispered into his chest a few minutes later, her warm breath tickling his skin.

"Nope." He pulled her closer to him and kissed her head. "I said I was staying, so I'm going to stay." As soon as Gabby tensed up, he realized how his words must have sounded. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm staying because I want to stay but I want you to know that you can always count on me to keep my word," he rambled off so quickly, taking a deep breath as soon as he finished.

"Sometimes I feel like I make it hard for you to stick around and that's not my intention."

"Is that why you didn't tell me about the calls?"

"Yeah. No matter what I tell you or confess to you….you stay and I worry that one day, there's going to be something that makes you turn around and run."

"That's never going to happen, Gabby. I need you to learn to trust me."

"I'm working on it," she whispered. She cleared her throat, "Eli asked me something the other day."

"Oh?" Matt raised a brow, intrigued by what the five year old had asked. The kid was quite good at asking some interesting questions. There had been more than a few times that he'd been stumped by some of Eli's questions. "Good or bad?"

"Good, I hope." She propped her head up on her pillow and waited for her eyes to adjust until she met Matt's gaze. "He asked me if you were my boyfriend."

"He did?"

"Yeah."

"And what did you say?"

"I told him that you are my boyfriend," she whispered. She searched his eyes for any sort of reaction and took a breath, "is that ok?"

Matt broke out into a grin, "of course it's ok!"

"Yeah?" Gabby asked nervously. "I mean, I know we haven't exactly discussed the specifics of our relationship and I'm not asking for anything, I'm totally ok with where things are but I can't give the boys false expectations and I…"

Matt cut Gabby off, "Everything I say, I mean and everything I promise, I keep. I love my job…I always have, but until I met you and your boys, I've never walked into work and immediately looked forward to my shift ending just so I could come over and have breakfast with you and the boys."

"Matt…" Gabby whispered, completely speechless by his confession. "You're too good to me."

He found her lips in the dark and kissed her softly, "nah. You just don't give yourself enough credit."

* * *

><p>I'm really sorry it took me this long to update. I haven't had much motivation lately. And to be honest, I'm so picky with my writing that I rewrote this chapter three times. I don't want to just upload a chapter to say it's updated...I really want it to be a good chapter.<p>

P.S. No worries, Dawsey will be ok. But I really think the writers should make it up to us with a Dawsey baby. My biggest problem right now is that I feel like Gabby is being written out of character. And why is she being looked at as the bad one in the relationship? They've both messed up. Ok, rant over.

Ok, you all know the drill...read and review :)

One last thing, I'm editing this while watching the championship game...sorry for the mistakes I didn't catch.

Ok, I lied...one more thing...prank caller will be revealed soon. I have a lot of twists and turns outlined for this story I just don't want to rush anything.


	12. Chapter 12

How Will I Know

Chapter Twelve

With Gus in her arms, Gabby walked up the steps to the police department and headed inside, thanking the police officer as he held the door open for them. She adjusted Gus in her arms and sighed as she glanced around the station, she'd spent a lot of time here as a teenager when Antonio was just starting out with the police department.

She was constantly stopping by with dinner or when she had questions on her homework. It was better than going home to an empty house. With their father high up in the Chicago Police Department and their mother always at the hospital, being home alone got pretty lonely for Gabby.

"Well if it isn't Gabriela Dawson."

Gabby smiled, she'd also spent a lot of time hanging out with Trudy Platt. Thanks to her, she knew all the ins and outs of District 21. "Hey, Sargent Platt. It's been a while."

"It's been too long. Last time I saw you, this little guy wasn't even crawling."

"I know and I'm sorry I haven't stopped by more." She shrugged, "things have been hectic."

"Apology accepted. Just make sure next time you stop by you have your famous macaroni and cheese, ok? And of course, I need to see Elijah." She smirked and turned her attention back to Gus. "He's got your smile. He's going to be trouble."

"He already is. He's finally gotten the hang of walking and all I do is chase him around." She looked around, "do you know if my brother is here? I'm supposed to be meeting up with him."

"He just went upstairs. I'll give Nadia a ring."

"Ma ma ma." Gus bounced in his mother's arms, kicking his legs and trying to squirm his way out of her grasp.

Gabby sighed and sat Gus down on the ground, holding onto his hand as he walked around her.

Trudy returned the phone to its cradle, "no answer. I think half of the team is out for lunch. Knowing your brother, he's probably upstairs stuffing his face with a sandwich."

"Probably," Gabby agreed. "Can you let me in, then?" She pulled Gus back into her arms just as he started slip from her grasp.

"She can come up with us."

Both women looked up to see Detective Lindsay and Detective Halstead approaching them. Each holding a cardboard carrier full of coffee.

Gabby nodded and forced a bit of a smile. She had nothing against Erin or Jay but both had been around during her tumultuous relationship with Lance—they had been investigating him on federal drug charges. And not to mention, the short-lived fling she'd had with Halstead a couple of years ago when he was just starting out as a police officer. There were no hard feelings, no bottled up emotions…it was just a bit weird.

"Ah, Linstead," Platt greeted, eying the coffee. "One of those better be mine."

"You know it, Sarg." Jay grinned and handed her the large cup of coffee. "Two sugars and a little bit of milk."

"If being a detective doesn't quite work out, at least you know you'll have a chance as a barista."

"Funny," Jay mumbled as he raised his own cup of coffee to his lips.

Erin greeted Gabby with a warm smile, "It's good to see you, Gabby." She looked at Gus and grinned, caressing the side of his face. "Hey there, big guy! You're looking more and more like your mommy every day."

Gus bounced in his mom's arms and gave his dimpled grin. "Ma, ma, ma!"

"He's a chatter box, too." Jay quipped.

Gabby nodded, "it's Ma, Eh, baba and tuck all day long."

"Baba?" Gus asked, looking up at his mom. He held his hands out and looked around, "Baba?"

"You don't miss a thing, do you?" Using her free hand, she reached into her purse and pulled out a bottle she'd filled up with milk before leaving the apartment. She removed the cap and handed it to him.

Gus grinned, "baba!" Immediately, the bottle was in his mouth and he was tilting his head back so he could gain full access to the milk.

"He's an absolute cutie," Erin said.

Gabby smiled and grinned down at Gus. "Thank you. I think so, too." She cleared her throat and looked back up at the two detectives. "Not that I wouldn't love to chat but my brother is expecting me and he gets on my case every time I'm late."

"Ours, too." Jay said.

Erin nodded, "he's a stickler for being on time, that's for sure. He mentioned something about you stopping by." She motioned towards the steps. "Come on."

Gabby followed Jay and Erin up the second set of stairs and into the intelligence quarters. She smirked when she caught sight of her brother stuffing his face with a sandwich. "Working hard as usual, I see."

Antonio looked up and rolled his eyes. He took a large gulp of his drink and let it wash down his food. "Yeah, yeah." He rolled his chair back and stood up. "Jin should be expecting us." He walked over to Gabby and ruffled Gus' hair. "Hey! Augustus! Feeling old, yet?" He looked over at Gabby. "You ready?"

She nodded, "ready as I'll ever be."

"Need us to watch Gus?" Erin asked. "We're just going to be going through paperwork, could use the entertainment."

"Uh…" Gabby hesitated, Gus hadn't been around any of her brother's coworkers enough to really know them.

"That's actually not a bad idea," said Antonio. "Might hurry things up."

"Yeah, but…he doesn't really know you guys."

Antonio sighed, "Gabby, he'll be fine."

Gabby kissed Gus' forehead. "You wanna hang out with some detectives for a while?" She sighed, "yeah, I know, you have no idea what I'm saying." She passed Gus into Erin's arms. And while he didn't seem eager to leave his mother's arms, he didn't fuss.

"See? He's fine."

Gabby nodded. "Oh." She slipped her purse from her shoulder. "We shouldn't be too long but everything you might need is in my purse. His pacifier, diapers, some snacks and a few toys but to be honest, he's been carrying around that little fire truck all day so I doubt he would pay attention to anything else."

"Was that really necessary?" Gabby asked moments later as she followed her brother through the intelligence headquarters to where Jin's work station was. "He could've come with us."

"This way it will be faster."

"So, what? Leave him with two of the detectives that you paid to basically follow me while you were investigating Lance? Not to mention, there was a time when Jay and I…"

Antonio stopped and turned around. He raised a brow, "how many exes are you going to mention in one sentence?"

Gabby crossed her arms, "Don't be an ass."

"Then don't be difficult." He turned around and started walking again.

Gabby glared at the back of her brother's head before following him.

Gabby took a seat next to Jin and crossed her arms, just ready to get this over with. She didn't really care for the idea of her brother, let alone, his coworker, listening to the voicemails.

"Ok, I went ahead and transferred all the voicemails over and with a little bit of magic, I was able to get _close _to the original voice." Jin glanced over at Gabby, "sorry, but I have to play them."

Gabby nodded, "I know."

Antonio took a firm stance behind his sister and crossed his arms, he had a feeling he was not going to like what he heard. He gave Jin a small nod to go on.

"_Once a slut, always a slut." _

"_Two babies…two daddies, let's hope Casey knows what he's in for. Third times a charm, huh? Gonna convince this one you're worth it?" _

_"Bitches like you don't deserve love."_

_"Well didn't you just turn out to be a little bit of a disappointment? Daddy is a retired chief, mommy is a retired doctor and big brother is a decorated detective. And little Gabriela...just a whore."_

"Ok, ok, just turn it off." Gabby demanded.

Jin quickly paused the recordings and looked over at Gabby, sending her an apologetic look. "Did the voice sound familiar?"

One glance at his baby sister and he knew that she had recognized the voice. "Gabby?" He sighed and looked down at Jin. "Thanks for your help, man. Can you give us a few minutes?"

"Yeah, no problem." Jin stood up from his chair and slipped out of his makeshift office.

Antonio shut the door behind Jin and turned back to his sister. He took in her demeanor; her arms were crosses and she refused to look at him, "who is it, Gabby?"

Gabby swallowed hard. "That's Bobby Ross," she whispered. She shook her head, angry at herself, "I don't even know why I didn't consider him."

"Who the hell is Bobby Ross?"

"He's a paramedic…we went to school together."

"And?" Antonio asked, frustrated with the lack of information his sister was giving him. "What did you do? Why would he possibly want to harass you?"

"Are you saying I did something to deserve this? Gee, thanks, Antonio."

"You know that's not what I'm saying, Gabby. But you also know that I can't help you unless I know everything. As it stands, this Bobby Ross guy has done nothing wrong."

"We had a thing…if that's what you even want to call it, back when we were in school together." She sighed and looked up at Antonio, "he's Eli's dad."

"You've got to be kidding me." Antonio sighed in frustration, "and you didn't think to tell me about this when I asked you if you could possibly think of _anybody _who could be holding a grudge against you?"

"Why the hell would he be holding a grudge against me? I did exactly what he wanted! I didn't pursue him for a paternity test! I didn't even know he was working for Chicago until I ran into him at 51 right before your trip to the Dominican!"

Antonio took a seat in the chair previously occupied by Jin. "So you didn't push him out of his son's life?"

"No!" Gabby exclaimed, appalled that her brother was even asking her. "I told him I was pregnant and he said there was no way it could be his." She sighed and closed her eyes, thinking back to the day Eli was born. "Do you remember...after Eli was born and you came back to the hospital the next morning?"

Antonio let his mind fall back to the time Gabby was referring to. He nodded, "yeah. I had Diego with me and when I walked into the room you had been crying. I thought it was just your hormones so I didn't question it. Did Ross show up?"

Gabby shook her head, "no. I sent him a text...with a picture of Eli and his full name." She shrugged, "I guess, throughout my entire pregnancy, I kind of hoped that once I had the baby, Ross would at least want to be apart of his life. I was wrong." She dropped her gaze to her hands and pictured the response as clear as day. "His response...should've named him Bastard Baby Dawson."

Antonio's blood boiled and he clenched his fists in anger, "Gabby..."

She shook her head, "please don't yell at me again. I know I screwed up, I know I _keep _screwing up. I really am trying, Antonio. Eli and Gus are my whole life. Everything that happened with Lance...it was a wake-up call for me."

Antonio sighed and put a hand on each side of Gabby's chair and rolled her closer to him. "I'm not mad, Gabs. Well, not at you, anyways." He cleared his throat, "Gabriela, look at me."

Gabby shook her head. "I'm sorry you have to keep fixing my mistakes."

"Hey, what are big brothers for? I know I've been hard on you these past few years and I think a lot of it is anger that's being misdirected towards you."

"What do you mean?"

"When you were growing up, mom and dad were always busy with work."

Gabby scoffed, "trust me, I remember."

"I was so busy with starting my life...settling down with Laura and joining the academy that I didn't spend a lot of time with you..."

"Antonio, the decisions I've made are not your fault."

"I know that but I'm just saying...maybe if I had been around more..."

"Trust me," she said, cutting him off. "I would have still made the same rebellious choices. It was never about you, it was always about getting mom and dad's attention. Besides, all the times you let me hangout here at the station...it helped."

Antonio laughed, "it wasn't long before you became everybody's favorite Dawson."

"Well, duh. You should've seen that coming," Gabby quipped. "And don't even say it was because I brought in buffets of food on a regular basis."

"Hey, you said it, not me."

"But you were thinking it. I know you, 'Tonio. Besides, I had to practice my cooking skills on someone."

A knock on the door caused the siblings to look up. Jin popped his head in, "I don't mean to intrude or anything but Voight has got me on a tight schedule."

"Right, right, no worries." Antonio stood up and helped Gabby up. He ushered her out the door and stopped before leaving the room, "thanks again, Jin."

Gabby nodded, not making eye contact. "Yeah, thanks."

"It was no trouble, really."

The two of them walked side by side down the hallway. Antonio heard the tiny sniffles next to him and looked over just as Gabby wiped the tears away. He stopped and gently grabbed her arm, halting her movements, "hey, hey. Enough with the crying. I'll find a way to get that asshole fired or locked up or something, ok?"

Gabby nodded, "I know you will. Please, just don't jeopardize your job like you did last time. It's not worth it."

Antonio shook his head, "you're always worth it, Gabs."

"Mama, mama!"

Down the hall, Gus was running as fast as his little feet would take him. With the toy firetruck in one hand and his almost empty bottle in the other, he giggled as he got closer to his mother.

Antonio grinned and nodded towards the bright green and blue high tops that were on Gus' feet. "Looks like his new sneakers are being put to good use."

Gabby rolled her eyes, "they match absolutely nothing he has."

"According to Diego that's the style...bright basketball shoes. He convinced me to buy a pair of purple, black and red ones for back to school."

"You're so whipped," She bent down and held her arms out for Gus, his little tiny body came crashing into her with such force that she nearly fell backwards. "Hey there big guy." She stood up and perched him on her hip, "did you have fun with Erin and Jay?" She looked up as the two detectives approached. "Thanks for watching him. I hope he wasn't too much of a terror."

"He was an angel," Erin replied, running a hand through Gus' hair. "But he saw Jay eating and nearly threw a fit until we gave him a few french fries...hence the ketchup on his shirt. Sorry."

Gabby shook her head, "don't worry about it. He doesn't look like it, but this kid can put away the food when he wants to."

* * *

><p>Kelly looked up from the collection of cards in his hand and caught sight of Antonio striding through the garage with a clear look of intent on his face. "Uh, oh…big brother trouble."<p>

Matt looked up from his own hand of cards, "what?" He followed Kelly's gaze and turned around. "Antonio? Hey." Matt stood up to greet his girlfriend's brother. "Is everything ok?"

"Where's the chief?"

"Uh…he should be in his office. Anything I can help with?"

"Not right now."

"Ok." Matt watched with a mixture of fear and curiosity as Antonio continued on into the firehouse.

Kelly smirked. "You're so scared of him."

Matt glared at Kelly and sat back down, "wouldn't you be? I'm dating his sister. He's one of the best detectives in Chicago and one false move…well, I'm sure he could find a way to kill me and hide the body without anybody ever finding out."

"Nah, he'll just find a way to put you in prison for the rest of your life," Severide quipped without missing a beat.

"Really, Kelly?" Shay smacked the back of her best friend's head and plopped down next to him. "Was that necessary?"

Matt had laughed, thinking Kelly was joking but the way Shay had reacted he was starting to think otherwise and his smile faltered. "Wait? That really happened?"

Kelly ducked his head in response to the glare Shay was sending him. "Oops. Forget I said anything."

"No," Matt shook his head, "you can't just let something like that slip and then not tell me the whole story."

"Seriously, it's not much of a story," Kelly insisted.

"Obviously it is. Is he in prison for something he did to Gabby? I know he was abusive."

Shay frowned in disapproval and sent Kelly another glare. "Well you might as well go ahead and tell him before he does something stupid to find out on his own." She leaned back into her chair and crossed her arms. "Although, I might have to supervise to make sure you get the details right."

"I don't even know all the details."

"Exactly my point, Kelly!"

Kelly sighed and scooted his chair in closer to the table. "Lance Torres…Gus' dad," he shook his head, "I still have no idea how Gabby met him but she did and turned into one fucked up train wreck." He sighed, "For as long as I have known Gabby, everything she's done had been about Eli. Yeah, I guess she would hook up with guys once in a while..." Kelly shrugged, "she is human, after all."

Shay rolled her eyes and sat up, resting her elbows on the table and leaning into the conversation. "What Kelly is trying to say is that Gabby never really focused on having relationships…she was all about being the best mother she could to Eli. And then she met Lance and next thing I know, she was constantly asking if we could watch Eli. And I mean…like _all the time._"

"It's like he put her under some spell or some shit like that," Kelly muttered. "It was weird."

"More like scary!"

"And then I hear through Erin," he paused and looked over at Matt to make sure he was still keeping up, "you know, that detective I was hooking up with for a bit? Well, I hear that they've got this big case on some dude named Lance Torres and it didn't take long to connect the dots." Kelly shrugged, "we confronted Gabby and she flipped out."

Matt leaned in, a feeling of unease settling in the pit of his stomach. "Well what happened?"

"Gabby asked Lance if he was involved in anything. He freaked out on her, accused her of being a snitch. Next thing I know, I'm responding to a domestic abuse call." Shay shook her head angrily as she thought back to the scene she's stumbled in on. "Luckily Eli wasn't home. Gabby had already dropped him off at her cousin's for the day. When I say he beat the shit out of her...I mean he left every part of her body bruised and battered. Not a single scratch on her face, just her entire body."

"Oh my god," Matt whispered.

"She refused to press charges," Kelly mumbled.

Matt sat up straight, shocked by Kelly's words. "What? Why?"

Shay shrugged, "nobody can really understand what goes through the mind of a victim of abuse." She sighed, "After that, she kind of stopped talking to us."

"Then what happened?"

"She got pregnant," Shay answered. "And Lance didn't really share the same enthusiasm as Gabby did. She showed up one night at our place at three in the morning with Eli sound asleep in her arms. She was barely standing upright." She shook her head, "the hell Lance put her through, it's amazing she didn't have a miscarriage."

Inside the firehouse, Antonio was a man on a mission as he walked right by Chief Boden's assistant, not even bothering to glance her way or let alone ask if he was even available.

"Detective Dawson, you can't just…"

The chief looked up from the paperwork on his desk, surprised by Antonio's presence. "Antonio?" He stood up and gave a small nod to his assistant, letting her know it was ok.

Antonio waited until Boden's assistant shut the door before angrily tossing a file down on the chief's desk. "Do you guys not do background checks on your paramedics anymore?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Just read the file!"

Boden gave Antonio a look letting him know he did not appreciate the tone. But nonetheless, he slipped his glasses back on and took a glance through the file. Barely a paragraph into the first page and he understood Antonio's anger. When he was finished scanning through the many pages, he looked back up at Antonio, "I had no idea."

Apparently Gabby wasn't the first person Ross had invested time in harassing.

"Well someone in human resources knew exactly what they were doing when they hired him. He's got a criminal history as long as my arm!"

"His parents are high up in the social circle with some important people of Chicago." He shook his head, "don't take this the wrong way, but I don't really understand what this has to do with you? Don't get me wrong, I'm going to be taking care of this right away but I'm not really connecting the dots..."

"He's been harassing my sister for the past month! _At least! _Who knows what else she isn't telling me! She just now told me that he's Eli's father!"

As soon as Antonio said that, Boden's demeanor completely changed. As far as he was concerned, Gabby would forever be apart of 51. "I had no idea."

"Yeah, join the club." He motioned his head towards the door, "I'm guessing some of your crew did, though."

Boden looked up when there was a knock on his office door, he sighed and motioned for Matt to come in. "I guess we'll find out." he nodded at Matt. "Casey."

"Hey, chief." Matt glanced at Antonio, "sorry if I'm interrupting...it's just...is everything ok? Is Gabby ok?"

Antonio turned to Matt, "did you know about Ross?"

Matt raised a brow, not sure what argument between Gabby and Antonio he had just stepped into. "About him being Eli's dad? She told me about a week ago." He shrugged, "I kind of had to force it out of her."

"Yeah, tell me about it. That's how she's always been." Antonio shook his head angrily, "she tells you, a guy who—no offense, she has only been dating for about a month and half but she can't even tell her own brother? The one person who has stuck with her through everything!"

"Antonio, I…"

Antonio caught sight of Ross through the open door, "Is that him?"

Matt turned around and before he could respond, Antonio was running out of the office and throwing Ross against the wall. "Antonio!"

Ross winced. "Whoa, man, what's your problem?"

"What's my problem?" Antonio shoved him up against the wall again, "you're my problem! I don't know what kind of sick obsession you have with my sister but it's going to stop!"

It didn't take long for Matt to put together what Antonio was saying. Ross was the one who'd been prank calling her. It took all his energy not to join Antonio in attacking Ross. Already on thin ice from last time he'd thrown a few punches at Ross, he let Shay and Kelly push him aside to go stop Antonio.

"Dude, I see a lot of girls, you're gonna have to be more specific as to which one is crying foul this time."

"Which one's crying foul?" Antonio repeated in disgust. "You piece of shit! Does this narrow it down for you...the one who you knocked up and ditched!"

A brief flash of fear passed through Ross' eyes but he quickly recovered with another smirk. "Again, I need it narrowed down. You know how many women have tried to trap me."

"Asshole!" Antonio took a step back and punched Ross, he gave the paramedic just enough time for the pain to register before throwing another punch.

* * *

><p>Gabby was just starting to fall asleep when her phone buzzed across her nightstand. She kept her eyes closed and sighed, maybe if she ignored it then whoever it was would get the hint that she was sleeping. Or at least trying to sleep. It buzzed again, signaling another text message had arrived.<p>

Sighing, she reached for her phone. Wincing against the sudden light, Gabby wasn't surprised to see one text was from her brother and the other was from Matt.

Antonio: _anymore calls? _

Matt: _are you sleeping? _

Gabby sent a 'no' in response to her brother's text and then answered Matt's. _No. How's work?_

Thinking it might take him a few minutes to respond, Gabby sat her phone down next to her and was startled when it started to ring. She saw Matt's name flash across her screen and quickly answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, I'm surprised you're up. You're usually sleeping by now."

Gabby shrugged and settled back into the stack of pillows behind her. "Can't sleep. How is work?"

"You already asked me that."

"But you didn't answer."

Matt smirked, he couldn't get anything past her. "It's been calm so far." _Besides your brother's afternoon visit, _he thought to himself. "Hopefully I didn't just jinx it. How are the boys?"

"The usual. A handful. I took them to the park after I picked Eli up from school so by the time we got home they were exhausted. They ate, took a bath and went straight to bed."

"You mean to tell me the one time they both go right to sleep, I'm not there to enjoy quiet time with you?"

Gabby shook her head. "Don't worry, I'm sure there will be other opportunities. But anyways, Eli got a perfect score on his spelling test today _and _he was the only one in his class to spell the bonus word correctly. You'll never guess what it was…"

"Well don't leave me in suspense," Matt joked.

"Fire."

"You're kidding?"

"Nope. He couldn't wait to tell you, so make sure you act surprised when he does."

He laughed, "Oh, don't worry. I've played enough peek-a-boo with Gus that I've mastered the fake surprise expression. How is the little guy, anyways?"

"His walking has turned into running. Oh, and that little red fire truck you got him for his birthday, he rediscovered it this morning and carried it around with him the entire day. I had to practically pry it out of his hands before I gave him a bath."

Matt laughed, "well I'm glad he likes it. So how are you?"

"Emotionally exhausted," Gabby admitted. She sighed and closed her eyes, "I wish you were here."

"Is everything ok?"

"Not really. I found out who has been calling me."

Matt sighed, "I know."

"What? How?"

"Your brother stopped by here this afternoon."

"And you're just now telling me?" Gabby's stomach dropped, "what did he do?"

"I would've called sooner but it's been one call after another. And it's more like, what didn't he do?" Matt quipped, trying to ease the tension he could sense in Gabby's voice. "Your brother got a few punches in before he was pulled back by the chief. Took all my self-control not to join him."

"Matt!"

Matt shook his head, "he had not right to harass you like that, Gabby. I should've known it was him, he'd been walking around with a smirk on his face for weeks…that was until Antonio wiped it right off today."

Gabby closed her eyes and sighed, "I just need this to all be over with and that's not going to happen if you and Antonio continue to take turns in using Ross as a punching bag." She rubbed at the tension on the side of her head, "I don't want him having any leverage."

"Leverage for what?"

"What if he decides he wants to be a part of Eli's life and tries to take him away from me?"

"Gabby, that's _never _going to happen. It's shitty to say, but he has no interest in Eli and not to mention, all the legal hoops he would have to jump through to even get a chance." He sighed and leaned his head back against his own pillow. "You shouldn't worry about stuff like that."

"He's my son!" Gabby cried. "I worry about every possible scenario where he could be taken away from me! That's my job!"

"Ok, ok," Matt hurried to say. "I'm not trying to say you shouldn't worry…I'm just saying, cross that specific worry off of your list. Ross will never take Eli away from you, ok? I promise." He sighed, giving Gabby a moment to calm down. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to make your worries sound trivial."

Gabby shook her head, "I know. I'm sorry, too. I'm just a little on edge."

"And that's understandable. I wish I was with you right now."

"I am kind of awesome to be around," Gabby quipped, trying to lighten the mood.

"Understatement of the year." Matt caught sight of the envelope sitting in the corner of his desk. "I actually have a surprise for you...well, for you and Eli."

"Oh?"

"Bears tickets! September 14th. Save the date!"

Gabby quickly racked her brain trying to remember her schedule. "How did you know I have that weekend off?"

He laughed, "you hang your schedule on the refrigerator door."

"Oh, right. I forgot." She frowned, "but what about Gus?"

"Shay has already agreed to watch him."

Gabby shook her head, "has she become your emergency babysitter?"

"Pretty much," Matt quipped. "It's a trade, really. She babysits the boys and I sometimes I act as Kelly's babysitter whenever he and I go out drinking."

She laughed, "I see...well, I..." her words were cut short by the soft cries floating through the baby monitor.

"Uh, oh...sounds like someone is awake."

Gabby glanced at the time, "like clockwork." She kicked her covers off and climbed out of bed, "I should probably let you go. I'll see you tomorrow morning for breakfast?"

"Wouldn't miss it."

"Goodnight, Matt."

"Goodnight, Gabby."

* * *

><p><strong>Well, I think I managed to get a lot of background about Gabby in this chapter. Matt got a little bit more insight into why Gabby doesn't trust so easily. And yep...lots of you guessed it, it was Ross! What happens with him, now? You shall see in later chapters! ;)<strong>

**Also, thanks to everybody who reviewed 'Lost Then Found'. It was a very emotional story to write. Working on a companion piece for those of you who requested a Gabby/Antonio conversation. **

**So...sometimes I lurk through the fandom on twitter but don't really post anything. Why? I don't know, I guess my introverted ways make their way to how I socialize on the internet. But also because it's a personal twitter and a lot of my friends don't understand my fangirl ways. lol. Anyways, no worries, Dawsey will be ok. I will admit, I'm not happy with how things are playing out but I also know that on tv shows, all couples have to have their ups and downs. Gotta keep the story going somehow. I'll forever be Team Dawsey...but right now, I'm kinda Team Gabby. But they'll find their way back. They are endgame. :)**

**Hope you all liked the chapter! Read and review, please! Love you all! -Rebecca**


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